My New Roommate
by emazingwaffle
Summary: Follow Jason as he becomes adjusted to his new roommate. Jason- A Titan capable of using all classes of the light - gets a new roommate after so long...and he isn't very happy about it. Cayde believes he can mentor the new trainee, but that's not the only reason he put them together. A comedic, adventure story with doses of romance. Please read and enjoy :)
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1

The sun shines through the giant window leading to the balcony, right next to the Traveler. I try getting up but my body is sore from Crucible yesterday. Mayhem truly does live to its name. I manage to get up and walk out of my room. I look inside the empty room that my roommate would live in- if I had one. My previous one moved out because he found a house down in the Last City. We're still good friends, he's a gunslinger Hunter, his name is Arcane-10: obviously an Exo. So I've been living on my own for a long while. Usually I'd have a roommate by now, but I guess I'm lucky. I decide to shower to see if I can shake off some soreness. All over my body I see cuts, bruises, and red marks. Even as a Titan, it hurts like a bitch. After I shower I make myself some breakfast and I sit down on the couch to watch TV.

"Ahhhhh, good morning Jason." I hear from my left. I turn to see Pyro- my ghost- barely waking up. "Mornin' Pyro. Any news from the Vanguard?" He just shakes his shell, "Nothin, guess we should report later for whatever they assign us today." "As usual," I sigh. Lately, I've been sent on patrol missions to scout uncharted lands. Supposedly, the Vanguard hope to expand to retake lost lands. I don't complain, I tend to have fun whenever I go, whether it be sparrow racing with my fireteam if I get paired with one or just taking in the fresh air when solo. But still, I hope to get some change to my routine soon.

As if on cue, my doorbell rings, "I think I spoke to soon." Pyro turns to me before getting the door, "What was that?" I snap up and quickly reply, "Nothing…nothing." Pyro opens the door and in walks Cayde-6, the Hunter Vanguard. "Morning Jay, sleep well?" I smile and reply, "Yes I did Caydey, thanks for asking." He just chuckles, then I continue, "What's up? New mission?" Cayde replies nervously, "Well yeah um, it's not like any other you've done." I just laugh and reply, "I think I can handle whatever you throw at me." "Alrighty then," he looks outside and calls out, " Come on in!"

In walks a new guardian, a Hunter I would assume. She has hair in a mix of brown and dark red, with big brown eyes, small lips, with a slight tan. Body wise, she has an hourglass shape with a flat stomach. Truly fit enough for a Hunter. "Hiya! Names Leslie. And who are you?" "This man," says Cayde, " is your mentor. Just because he's a Titan doesn't mean he can't teach you valuable skills. Therefore," he looks at both of us before finishing, "you are his new roomate." The silence was there, until I broke it.

"WHHHAAAAAAATTTTTTTT?!" I pulled Cayde aside quickly. "Cayde, you know the rules; male and female guardians can't dorm together. So why is she my roommate?" Cayde looked at me and said, "Well err, she's a bit of a airhead." We look back at her to see her trying to figure out the advanced technology that is the TV remote. "Point taken. But still." Cayde looked at me for a while. Finally, I gave up. "Fine, I'll do it." Cayde smiled and turned to Leslie "Congrats Leslie, meet your new roommate." She gave up on the remote and jumped with joy and running to me, squeezing me the best to her ability. She summoned her ghost and he spawned a suitcase. Cayde walked towards the door and said, "Enjoy your stay."

I showed her to the vacant room so she can unpack. In the meantime, Cayde sent me a message, according to Pyro. "Hey Guardian, it's me again. You're hereby free from duty until you're associated with your new partner. Enjoy" Transmission end. "Cayde, you son of a-" "Easy there Jason, no need to be upset!" I relax a bit, and decide what we're gonna do. "I got it!" Leslie walks out with a confused face. I yell, "To the shooting gallery!"

[Later]

"How about this?" I drop my First Curse in her hands. She tries to aim the weapon but she can barely hold the barrel straight. "Too heavy for a pistol, don'tcha think?" she complains. "Hand Cannon. It's called a Hand Cannon." I repeat for the millionth time. "Oh, guess I forgot." She genuinely looks like she's serious. I guess she really is an airhead. Of all people, why did Cayde pick me to care for this nutjob? She'll be killed on her first mission. No, I can't let that happen. I can't- "Mister Jason?" I get snapped back into reality from my thoughts and I see her looking down at my waist. I start to get red and I step back, "Y-yeah? What is it? And just call me Jason." She points to my Imago Loop hanging on my side, "Can I try that one?" I unclip the gun and hand it to her, "Sure, it's my personal weapon but you can give it a try." She aims the weapon with ease, probably because the thing is light. "Wow, this is so much easier to hold. Can I fire it?" "Go ahead." I stand behind her to make sure she's aiming it right. As soon as she pulls the trigger she gets pushed back…right into me.

I hit my head on the floor kinda hard but it was nothing compared to what I've been hit with. When I come to, Leslie was sitting on top of me staring me down, concern obviously on her face. "Jason? Are you okay? Thank you for breaking my fall." I rub my head, "Ouch, no problem." I try getting up until I realize how she's sitting on me. "Umm, Leslie? Can you-" And at that moment, my Warlock friend Alex Nova walks into the range, "Jason! I knew I'd find you here. Can you…am I interrupting something?" He saw how Leslie was sitting on me and I quickly jumped up. "Hey dude, nice catch, she your new someone?" I glare at him before I start talking, "Well actually, she's my-" "I'm mister Jason's roommate!" She exclaims with joy. "Woah dude, you finally got a new roommate? Bout time." "Yeah," I respond, "Her name is Leslie. Leslie, this is my best friend." "Nice to meet you, I'm Alex Nova, a Voidwalker Warlock. I see you're warming up to my friend here quite well Leslie." A big smile comes across her face, "Oh yes, Jason has been super nice to me ever since I moved in. He even cooked me dinner last night. It was so yummy!" Alex turns to me, "How come you don't cook me any food?" "Shut up." He laughs and continues, "Well it was nice meeting you, I have a mission to get to. I was gonna invite you but I see you have your hands filled. Catcha later!" He runs out, leaving me and Leslie alone. Again. For once I actually wish the annoying bastard was still here.

"Okay, now it's time to do something I want to do!" she quickly says. Oh damn, that was the deal. "Let's go shopping!" Traveler help me.

AN: **Hey everyone, this is my first Destiny fanfic. Hope you enjoyed. More chapters coming soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

"Jason! Keep up! There are still cute clothes I want to see!" she was yelling at me halfway down the shopping center. She was yelling at me to keep up because I was being slowed by the dozens of bags she's making me carry. She assumes that because I'm a Titan I can handle it. Don't get me wrong, I can. But it's just annoying that she's trying to rush me.

Still, I feel compelled to help her out of my nature. She seems so naïve to the world, completely unaware of the fighting and bloodshed that happens beyond those walls. She's so pure. Too pure for this world. She doesn't know the hell that is being a guardian. I finally catch up to her and she's staring at a dress displayed in the front of the store. The way her face lights up just gives me a sense of relaxation. She's happy, which is what I try to do.

As I'm waiting for her to pick out the clothes she wants, I look outside to see a group of girls – 3 of them, around 16 or 17. They were stopped by older guys, biker looking gang. They tried turning around but were cut off by guys with similar looking clothing. They corner them into an alleyway and vanish from my sight.

"Leslie, I'll be right back, okay?" She turns to me and smiles, "Sure, but don't take too long." I quickly run out and look into the alley. The girls are at the end, looking terrified. I can hear one of the members talking, "So, me and my boys are bored see? And we spotted you three and figured you gals would take that away." The fear in their face sent me into a rage. I approach the thugs with mercy being the last things on my mind.

"Pick on someone your own size wimps!" They turn towards me, obviously pissed by that taunt. "Picking on schoolgirls, how pathetic." One guy steps forward, must be the leader. "And who might our hero be? Some punk not minding his own business that's who! You should leave before…" he pulls out a switchblade "…things get unnecessarily violent." He then charges at me with his knife, then one of the girls screams "NOOOOO!"

Easy stopping for me. I grab his wrist and squeeze with half of my strength. And naturally, he starts to whimper in pain. "Violent, huh? Here's the thing. Things are gonna get violent. Up to – _titanic_ – proportions." I ball my fist and immediately it ignites in fire, then punching him so hard he gets launched back into his goons. "P-p-p-p-please, don't hurt us!" they begged. I smile, then say "Then make like the House of Wolves after Skolas' capture, and SCATTER!" They then book it, one of them dragging the probably dead boss.

I look at the time, and it's almost 4! "Shit I gotta-!" "Mister?" I turn to see one of the three girls staring up at me. "Yes?" "Are you an actual guardian?" "Nah, these flaming fists are all show." She didn't seem amused. Kids these days don't have a sense of humor. "Yes I am. A Sunbreaker titan." The light in her eyes lit up so much, I smiled. "Oh and you kids should probably get home, it's getting late." "Thank you mister Titan!"

One of the girls gave me her number for "security purposes." Pyro popped up on my shoulder as we were walking back to the store. "You can get high schooler numbers but not numbers from women your age huh?" I turn to him and gave him a stern look, "Okay listen here you little shit, I didn't rescue high school girls just to listen to your sass." He gives a ghostly chuckle and says, "I always knew you were into younger women." I yell "SHUT UP!"

We get back to the store expecting Leslie to be mad, but instead she was still shopping. In fact, she was barely paying. She gets her GuardianCard back and turns to me, "Finally you're back. Help me carry my bags please?" "You mean carry them for you?" She smiles and says, "Yes actually, thanks." Great, now back to the tower we go.

Two hours later

I collapse on my bed tired as hell. I can hear Leslie organizing her clothes in her room. Pyro appears next to me and says, "Hey, someone's knocking on your door, you should answer it." Silence hangs in the room until I reply with, "MMMMMMPPPHHHHH." I walk up to the door and open it. "Hey Jason, how was your day with Leslie?" says the Hunter Vanguard. I simply point to the shopping bags still sitting on the couch. "Point made."

I invite him in to sit at the dinner table. "Wanna drink?" I say as I prepare a drink. "Wait do exos even drink?" Cayde just chuckles and says, "It's not essential to our survival but yes, we can. I'll just take a whiskey on the rocks." I prepare him his drink will I make myself the same thing. "Thanks, can't really drink on duty, ya' know?" I simply nod and agree. "So what's up Cayde? Something you need to talk to me about?" He takes another sip of his drink and replies, "Actually yes, tomorrow you two are being assigned to patrol duty, the cosmodrome." I mutter under my breath, "God dammit. I'd prefer the shopping."

Cayde chuckles again and continues, "Okay, we've heard reports of fallen movement in a cave system somewhere in old Russia. We don't have an exact location but we can pinpoint a general area to scope out." "Alright," I shrug, "sounds simple enough." He looks at me and says, "Well no shit sherlock." "Fuck you Watson." We both laugh at our stupidity. He sniffs and says, "No seriously, this will be cakewalk for you, but what about-" "Leslie." He nods in agreement.

Silence fills the room except for the music Leslie is playing from her room. I've never seen her fight. Her shooting is terrible with most of my weapons. Will she survive? She has to, because Cayde trusts me with her. There's no way I'd let him down. "You're right Cayde, but I'll make sure she's back here by the end of the day." Cayde smiles then downs the rest of his drink, "That's why I picked you out of all the Titans." We both get up and Cayde starts to leave. I open the door for him, but right before he steps out he turns to me and holds his hand out in a flexing position. I grab his hand the same way, a handshake between us. "Good luck out there Guardian. Be safe and take care of her." He says. And with that, he leaves.

I finish my drink and head to my room. I don't hear music coming from Leslie's room anymore. I open the door to see that she's knocked out on her bed. I smile then close her door. I enter my room and change to get ready for bed. Right before getting in, I look out the balcony at the Traveler and moon, next to each other like they're the best of friends. "Give me strength tomorrow, alright?" I crawl into bed and knock out immediately

 **AN: Sorry about the lack of uploads guys. Senior year is a bitch. Thank you thank you so much for sticking around**.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I wake up to the smell of toast and bacon, which is unusual since I'm the only one that cooks. I wake up and am met with Leslie cooking up eggs and bacon, with a side of slightly burnt toast. I look at the clock on the wall and it says 9:10. So that means she woke up early to cook breakfast or she's cooking breakfast because she happen to wake up early. She turns her head and notices me standing in the doorway, "Morning sleepyhead. Better eat up, we have a long day ahead of us." I wipe my eyes tiredly then ask, "Whaddya mean?" She serves two plates with scrambled eggs on the table, with the bacon and buttered toast already set, and a small jug with orange juice inside. She turns to me and says, "Our first mission together of course!"

That was enough to snap me awake, "Wait, how did you find out?" "Cayde told me of course." She replies. I sigh, mostly out of relief because I thought I would have to explain. We sit on the table and start eating breakfast. The eggs were fluffy and the bacon was crispy. The toast was sweet and buttery as well. The orange juice gave me a feeling of relief and clarity. It was such a relaxing breakfast, along with some music playing in the backround. Future House, a soft rhythmic type of music with a danceable beat, but this one had soft, soothing synths. Perfect for waking up.

Suddenly she turns to me, "Hey Jason, I have a confession to make." I turn to her with a strip of bacon still hanging from my mouth, "Sure, what's up." She took a deep breath and continued, "About the first time we met, Cayde described me as an idiot right?" I swallow the piece of bacon I was eating and remain silent for a few seconds, "Well, he didn't say that…" "But more or less he said that right?" I sigh and nod. She goes on, "Well in reality, when I met Cayde I acted like an idiot for a specific reason." She was acting? Well then… "For what reason then?" She looks up to me and smiles, "So I can meet someone more intelligent than I am, rather than someone who's on my level. That's how we met. Cayde must think you're really smart and strong if he picked you over other Hunters or Warlocks." She… was right. Cayde picked me despite being a titan and male. She was absolutely right.

"Besides," she continues, "I'm not trained for combat. I can't hold a weapon straight and I haven't discovered my first subclass. What classes can you control?" I remain silent then I answer, "All my Titan subclasses really. I have been a Guardian for a long time, so I've spent my time being productive and learned to wield the light all 3 ways as a Titan." She laughs and punches my shoulder, "Show off!" I laugh as well. I can say things are starting to look up.

I drink the last of my orange juice, finishing my meal. "Alright, we gotta start getting ready. So once you're done with your meal, you can start getting ready too, okay Leslie?" She looks up at me while chewing and just nods. I put on the body suit and then start putting on my armor. My greaves and chest piece are both Iron Companion armor from Iron Banner. My helmet is a chroma Duskrender, with the chroma glowing to look like a red visor. My gauntlets are the Ruin Wings I received from the Black Garden. Spooky yet useful gauntlets they are. My mark is the Dead Orbit Exotic mark to represent DO wherever I go. I grab my Imago Loop, which I also found in the Black Garden after killing the Undying Mind. For my secondary I grab my Stolen Will which I received from defeating that Taken Archon Priest. Terrifying experience I tell you. My Heavy of choice is my Raze-Lighter. My solar abilities help with amplifying the strength of the blade. I keep the blade sheathed and have the hilt hanging from my side. I strap my Imago Loop on my belt and throw my Stolen Will over my shoulder and step outside my door.

Leslie happened to step out the same time as me. She was wearing the standard Vanguard Hunter gear that Cayde assigned. Typical Bog Wild gear set. She was armed with the Down-and-Doubt 00, which is a super light hand cannon. Smart decision really. I lent her my spare Sol Edge and my Weylorean's March sniper rifle. Kinda have to admit, she looks like a Veteran Guardian, if you didn't know how she fights.

"Hey Jason, have anything lighter than this sniper?" she complains. I have Pyro look through my vault and finally recommends something, "Here, try this." She drops the sniper rifle and my Chaperone appears in her hand. She seems to have an easier time holding it, which is good. "Okay Leslie, The Chaperone is a slug shotgun, meaning it fires one round at increased damage, so aim carefully okay?" She just nods respectfully. I still have a sick feeling in my stomach. I've never been this nervous before a mission. I think it's because I'm protecting a lot more than my own skin. I'm protecting someone else as well. But I can do this, I know I can.

A couple of hours later…Location: Old Russia, Cosmodrome Time: 11:22 am

"Its c-c-c-cold!" Leslie cries. "*sigh* Fine, hold still." I grumble. I turn her around and charge my Sunstrike. But instead of sucker punching her, I press my hand gently on her back. It's a trick my old instructor taught me; back when I was training to become a SunBreaker. He used to train me in cold weathers in order to help me harness my solar abilities to remain warm. Right when I pressed my hand on her back, I felt her shoulders relax and see her posture slump a bit. She let out a relaxing sigh, which was a sign it worked. I stepped back and she turned to me, obviously relaxed. "What was that?" she asked. "It was an old trick my master taught me to remain warm. It was back when I was a training to become a SunBreaker." I replied.

We started walking to the area where Cayde pointed out. It was an area near the Rocketyard heading towards the Shattered Coast. There was a cave that I never seen before. It didn't look natural either. It looked like it was blasted out. "This seems awfully normal, don'tcha think?" I say to her. "You're telling me we have to go in THERE?" she replies. "Yep, excited?" I reply happily. I see that she's trembling, which isn't good. I walk up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey look, you don't have to feel nervous about this." I say. She keeps looking at the floor and replies, "I'm not nervous, I'm scared! What if I go in there and I don't come back out? What if ghost can't revive me? What if-" Her knees give out and she sits on her knees in front of me, trembling. I can hear the sobs in her voice. I remember I was like this on my first mission, but not to this degree. I was scared too, I was worried about all the things she's scared about. But unlike her, I had a good mentor. No. She does have a good mentor. She has me, and I'm going to establish that.

I crouch down and pick up her chin. I give her a hug and let her head rest on my shoulders. I can feel her chest still heaving, but she seems to be relaxing a lot. Once I feel her breathing slow down, I begin to speak to her, "You okay?" She sniffles then replies, "Yeah…I think so. Yeah." "Alright, now let's get-" She puts her hand on my shoulder and says, "Can we stay like this a bit longer?" Thank god I didn't take off my helmet, cause I blush and reply, "Yeah, sure. No problem."

There was a short silence before I began to talk to her, "You know, I won't let anything happen to you." She looks up at me, "You promise?" I smile and reply, "Yeah, I promise." She sits up and looks at me, "You gotta pinky promise though." She holds out her pinky. I chuckle and curl my pinky around hers. She gets up and holds her hand out, "Alright, if anything happens to me I'm gonna kill you, okay?" I laugh and agree, and we go into the dark cave, with our ghosts lighting the way.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I followed behind him in the dark cave. Our mission was to investigate some Fallen activity. I saw another side of Jason back there at the entrance. I was frightened, broken. He comforted me, which was odd coming from a Titan such as him. Strong, brave, confident, handsome, charming… I mean, you get the idea. But still, I got the feeling that he's been there before. Been in my shoes. But it was so long ago that he doesn't remember anymore, yet the feeling stays in his heart. I don't blame him really. The strongest of guardians can succumb to fear and anxiety. Usually it's by witnessing something traumatizing or horrific. I feel like he's been through all that. Yet he still smiles, his light burning bright in him. I aim to be like him, one day.

We continued walking through the dark cave, our ghosts lighting the way. Every now and then he turns his head to look at me. His red chroma giving me a quick glance before turning back again. He would be intimidating if I didn't know what happened at the entrance. I start to reminisce about me first seeing Jason. Almost a week ago…

-Flashback-

My feet land on the marble foyer of the tower. Below me, in front of my feet, is the trifecta symbol with something written in Latin. Rose, my ghost, pops up on my shoulder to give me guidance. "Alright Leslie, my orders are to take you to your Vanguard." I sigh and reply, "But I don't even _know_ what I am." Rose shakes her shell and responds, "That knife on your belt is dead giveaway honey." I look down at the sharp blade on my belt and blush. "Fine just take me to the Vanguard."

We start to walk down the foyer towards a set of stairs that lead deeper into the tower. I look to my sides and I see guardians socializing, chatting, and every other fun thing you can do in the midst of war. A couple of guardians were arguing with a blue man in a yellow hood saying they've been swindled out of their engrams or whatnot. Also to that side a guardian was putting an armor piece in a machine then typing something on the keypad before walking away towards the hangar. To my left I see a group of guardians in front of blue lady (who was very pretty by the way) exchanging silver coins for…patches? Upon receiving them they perform strange dances and gestures in celebration before showing them to each other. In that same building a couple of guardians were picking up stuff from a robot. I heard one of them say, "Wow, did I really miss all this? Gotta keep my eyes out next time." I look again to my right and see a robot and his shop tucked away in a corner. He was presenting boxes to a couple of guardians, each having a strange symbol on them. The guardians pulled out guns and examined them, then thanking the robot before walking off smiling.

When we reached the bottom of the stairs there was this lady in brown clothing mumbling something while looking into a rock encased in a green orb. She had a blindfold on and I saw three green dots on the cloth and I prayed those weren't her real eyes. Then we started to pass by this red-tinted room with a tall, burly man standing on my right and a robot typing away on the left. The man had orange and white colored armor with a horn protruding from his head. Above him was a TV showing guardians fighting on what looks like a base. I think it might have been Phobos because of its proximity to mars.

I was about to pass by when someone yelled, "Hey! He's been challenged!" Suddenly a flock of guardians rush over to the TV above the man and watch eagerly like children watching a magic trick. "Hey Rose, can you go get the Vanguard. I want to see this." She looks at him with her blue eye and responds, "Sure, have me do all the work." She then flies off and I step closer to the TV screen.

On the screen were two guardians. They were both standing near a cliff-like area with space next to them and a ramp on the other side. Considering it was a team death match game type, I wondered where their teammates were. When the cameras panned out, I saw that they were all watching from a distance. Half of them were glowing blue and the other half were glowing orange. They were all talking and betting on who would win. A hunter was writing things down on a notepad, recording other Hunters and Titans shouting. A small group of warlocks were standing aside leaning towards each other and pointing at the duo, perhaps talking about how the fight could go down.

The two fighters in the middle were a Titan and a Hunter. The hunter was dressed in Yellow Egyptian-like armor, but his boots had bones on them, running up and down his legs like scales. The Titan was far more intimidating. He donned armor adorned with wolves, with his chest piece having the imprint of a tree in the middle. His legs weren't armored well, with only his shins and left thigh having plating. Yet the cloth looks unreasonably strong, without a doubt. His helmet however was what made him look scary. A red glow seeped down from the forehead portion of the helmet, making it look like a red visor. Mixed with the solid black and white colorings of his armor, he pierced through any soul that lays eyes on him.

He was positioned with a sword in his hands, with the blade diagonal to him, looking like he's ready to strike. The Hunter simple stood valiantly with his back upright and his shoulders wide, with his sword 's blade touching the ground at the tip. The designs of the two blades were different. Although both equally sharp, the Hunter's sword had small rectangles near the base of the blade, appearing more futuristic. The Titan's blade had small points coming from the same area, appearing just as intimidating as he. The main difference was the crystals in each of their swords. The Titan's crustal was red, while the Hunter's was blue.

Suddenly the hunter began a monologue, "I see we finally get to meet! I have waited so long for a rematch. I have gotten stronger since our last fight!" The Titan simply replies, "Alright then, let's see you fight. And maybe you can win this time. Or not." Suddenly the Hunter twirled around and threw a disc sparking with electric energy at the Titan. The man with the broken horn suddenly decided to commentate, "Already the Hunter is on the offensive! Can he win with one shot?" The Titan simply stood there as the disc was rapidly closing in. Suddenly his crystal illuminated and he performed and uppercut, slashing the disc in two. The Hunter used this as a charging opportunity and bolted right at the Titan. The Titan simply looked up and blocked the Hunter's slash. While the Hunter was fast, the Titan was faster. He was sidestepping blindingly quick slashes as if they were nothing. Then during one slash the Titan parried the Hunter's attack, sending him reeling. The Titan used this opening and slashed across the upper chest/lower torso of the Hunter. The force of the attack was enough to push him back. The Hunter simply rolled back on his feet, but he was in a low stance, as if about to pounce.

The Hunter pulled out his knife and suddenly sparked with electrical light, igniting his knife to have extended range than usual. "Ahahah! Dirty tricks from a Hunter! Things now get interesting!" The man bellowed. The Titan responded to the situation with, "So that's how its gonna be eh? Very well, let's do this." Suddenly he burst into flames and a flaming hammer appeared on his left hand. The two charged at each other with insane speed, each person attacking, dodging, swinging, moving, blocking. Oohs and Aahs came from the crowd as the two fought. However I can tell the Hunter was getting agitated with his opponent by the way his attack style started to go from precise to brash. He was becoming more aggressive, thus getting a little sloppy. The Titan took advantage of this and when the Hunter swung with his knife, the Titan blocked it to stagger him. The Titan did this sweet kick to knock the knife close to the edge, but not over it. The Hunter, still shocked at the attack, was then sent flying by the swing of the flaming hammer that the Titan brought down, using the last ounce of solar light from that attack.. The Hunter struggled to stand up, thus using his sword as support. Whether it was from exhaustion or the damage he took from the Titans attacks, the Hunter was heavily breathing, which was made obvious by his chest huffing and puffing.

"Alright you…let's finish this!" The Hunter yelled. The Titan replied, "I couldn't agree with you more." Looking like it came from an action movie, the two charged at each other with extreme speed, clashing once with a loud boom. The camera panned out to get a view of both fighters. The entire room was quiet, even the man and the robot were staring intently at the screen. Everyone was on edge because neither of the fighters was moving. The Hunter, who was on the left, had his sword pointing towards his left foot, thus making me guess he swung diagonally, from his right shoulder down. The Titan, who was on the right, had his sword pointing behind him, holding it with one hand. So I guess he went for a half horizontal, half diagonal slash. Suddenly both blades simultaneously disintegrated, and still, no one moved a muscle. The Titan then straightens himself up, twirls the handle in his hand, and then slides it in a loop on his belt before securing yet. He then says, "Well, it looks like you need more training." The Hunter then collapses, with his ghost springing up and then through the speakers everyone hears, "Guardian Down."

The room erupts with a mixture of applause and groans. The camera shows some Hunters throwing down glimmer, coins, and some orbs of light and returning to orbit, while the scorekeeping Hunter and the Titans distribute the pool of rewards amongst themselves. The Warlocks were doing gestures trying to figure out both guardians fighting techniques, pretending to slash with an air sword. Suddenly the camera starts shaking and falling, then gets turned around to the Titan. He gives a thumbs up and says, "Keep fighting the good fight, Guardians!" Then the video slowly fades to another planet with a match starting.

"Uwahhh! That was so cool!" I yell out loud. A mysterious voice replies, "Sure was, wasn't it? But he stole my line." I turn to my right and see a robot with Rose floating above his shoulder. He walks up to me and holds out his hand, "Cayde-6, Hunter Vanguard, Exo, nice to meet you. And that Titan, he's gonna be your roommate."

"Hey Leslie, you okay?" I snap back to reality and notice that a red visor was staring into my eyes. I hadn't realized I was daydreaming so much that I stopped walking. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." We walk a little further and Jason stops. He turns to me and says, "Something doesn't feel right." I was about to open my mouth to reply when suddenly Fallen began to surround us. I got closer to Jason who was already in fighting mode. He had his Stolen Will in his right hand and his Imago Loop in his left. I pulled out my (His) Chaperone and did the same. Dregs were the only thing that surrounded us, so far. I hear him whisper, "You ready?" I swallow nervously and reply with a small, "Let's do it." We both aimed out hand cannons and slowly rotated in a circle back to back, killing dreg with ease. Any dregs that got to close either got a slug round in the head or were lying dead and full of holes.

Eventually, there were simply dead Fallen bodies laying around us, and a few Vandals that got too over confident. Jason sighed and said "Alright looks like we're done here." All of the sudden a Fallen voice is heard in the darkness and a Captain, armed with electric blades, walks up to us. He gives a gesture to challenge us to a sword fight. Jason chuckles and says, "Alright Malsik, we meet again. This time, I'm putting you down. No one is running away here." He holsters his Imago Loop and Stolen Will and pulls out his blade. They both charge at each other like savages. So much hate and pain with every clash. I feel some agony every time Jason strikes. There's a grudge to be settled here. Someone does not leave this cave alive.

"Agh! Leslie! Run!" I snap back from my thinking and see that Jason is pinned on the floor. The bottom two arms of the Captain hold down Jason while the upper two push down on Jason's sword. His energy is going to deplete and I don't think his ghost will be quick enough to revive him. I try to shoot the Fallen with my guns but all of them have depleted ammo with no reserves. I was completely empty and the Captain was going to kill him. The one who swore to protect me, and is yelling me to run as a last ditch effort. I didn't want to run but I knew that I would be his next target once he kills Jason. I started to cry as I held up my hand cannon and vainly pulled the trigger, hoping that a stray bullet would come out.

 _He's going to die._ I can't let my mentor die like this. _He's going to die._ And there's nothing I can do about it. I keep pulling the trigger. _He's going to die._ I start to remember the warmness he gave me back at the snow. The point of my back where he shared his power. _He's going to die._ He will not die. I will be strong enough to fight this beast. The spot on my back gets warmer. _He's going to die._ I tear up more under my helmet and continue to pull the trigger. I imagine Jason's power coursing through my body like he does naturally. The spot on my back burns. _He's going to die._

"HE WILL NOT DIE!" Suddenly the Down and Doubt fires a shot, but the shot leaves a tracer effect made of fire. The round hits the Captain in the shoulder, sending him back. I aim my second shot and shoot off his hand, disarming him. The shot pushed him into a wall, where he then proceeds to slump down to a sit. I aim the Golden flaming Gun at his helmet and say, "No one hurts him." And I pull the trigger, completely disintegrating the captain to ash.

I was about to bask in my victory when I hear groaning behind me. I quickly turn around run to Jason, who was still laying on the floor. I get on both knees to address his problem, only to find out that he's been wounded. I see a gash on his chest plate, with blood seeping from it. "Rose! Take us to orbit! And send a message to infirmary to have medical assistance ready!" Rose quickly responds in my ear, "Roger that, transmitting to orbit."

On my ship I help him to the cot in the back of the ship. I start to remove his chest piece, gauntlets, and helmet. I carefully tear of the bodysuit covering his upper body. The wound was bad, but nothing I couldn't fix. "Jason, this is going to hurt, okay?" He groans and replies, "Don't worry, I've gotten a blue item from a legendary engram. I can handle any pain." He always has a sense of humor even in dire times. I start to carefully pour alcohol on the wound and use gauze and apply pressure to stop the bleeding. After a while the bleeding stops and I wrap some fresh gauze above it. I sit back in my chair and exhale. Jason has knocked out from exhaustion, which is good.

I take one more look at Jason and I realize how built he is. His large shoulders and chest give him the towering appearance that every Titan has. His stomach wasn't clearly showing tone, but that would make sense since he needs muscle and fat to protect internal organs. I slowly ran my hand around his body to truly capture his definition. I felt like I was being hypnotized by his structure. Suddenly he says, "Shouldn't you be talking to the hangar right now?" I realize that we're preparing to dock and I also realize I'm blushing. Hard. I run to the pilot's seat and I respond to the call. "Yes this is Guardian Leslie; I have a guardian in need of medical attention. Permission to dock." A lady on the other side responds, "Alright Guardian, this is Amanda Holiday. Permission granted. You are docking at port 7. Welcome home."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

My vision slowly begins to refocus and I realize that I'm in a hospital room. I try moving but my body hurts every time I move. I rub my stomach and I instantly feel pain. I look down my shirt and I see the huge stitching on my abdomen. I reminisce about what happened back in the tunnel, but my head begins to hurt the more I think about it. "Ow my head, that Captain really put it down on me. I'm seriously thankful I didn't die. Wait, speaking of which…"

I look around the room and I realize I'm completely alone. "Where am I?" The door opens and the doctor walks in smiling, hopefully because she's happy to see me. "Good morning Mister Titan, how are you feeling?" "I'm feeling okay, just sore and slightly in pain on my core." I reply. She smiles and continues, "That's good." I grunt a bit and I keep talking, "By the way, what happened?" The doctor stops writing on her board and answers, "Oh, you were put under emergency care after your friend brought you here from one of your missions. Usually that's rare since your ghost can heal injuries like that, but you weren't healing which made us worry. Upon talking about your situation with a group of warlocks, it turns out whatever hit you had light-draining effects. Your ghost couldn't heal you as a result, and in order to heal you we had to use a special medicine containing Motes of Light to cleanse you." She points to the medicine bag to my upper left and it was sparkling, like a diamond.

"Thank you so much doctor, and thank those warlocks that helped me." I smile. "Well you can thank one of them in person." The voice said from the door. The doctor and I turn to see Alex leaning against the door frame smiling, still in his warlock outfit. "You really scared me back there bud. Light was draining from you like a faucet. If it wasn't for me and my friends, you would've been dry as cornbread." I chuckle and reply, "Thanks Nova, I seriously owe you one." He laughs and slaps my shoulder, "Just make me a steak and we'll be even." I laugh as well and reply, "Alright, deal."

The doctor chuckles and says, "Okay, I have other patients to attend to as well. You are free to leave anytime, just take it easy until your stitches heal, okay?" I nod and reply, "Yeah, thanks doc. You don't want steak either do you?" She laughs and kindly denies. Alex looks at me and says, "So you can do that to pick up chicks, just offer to cook for them." We both laugh until I realize what's missing. "Where's Leslie? And Pyro?" He stops laughing, "Oh they're both at your dorm." I feel a slight sense of reassurance knowing that they're both safe and alive. He continues, "Let's go see them, shall we?"

I get up and immediately feel discomfort and pain. I take longer than usual to dress out of the hospital clothes and into some casual clothes. When I take off my shirt I take a better look at my injury. From the looks of it, it's a stab wound. I got stabbed? Looks like I let my guard down when I was fighting that damn captain. Wait, did I kill it? No, Leslie killed it, but with what? It was from a few shots of a gun, firing solar rounds. Golden Gun? Did she really unlock her super in the spur of the moment? Very impressive indeed. I'll talk to her when I get back.

Alex and I walked through the foyer towards the dorms, saying hi to any guardian that we recognized. Shaxx himself said he missed the action I brought to the crucible table and he expects me to be on the field very soon. Some of them gave me different gifts as get well presents. I received chocolate from a young warlock, a very nice smelling candle from a fellow titan, a card from one of my hunter friends, and a plush of an animal from a small group of guardians. I shared the chocolate with Alex as we walked towards the dormitory tower.

Turns out, I've been unconscious for a few days, so people were really worried. I felt flattered to know that people missed me. Eventually, we finally reach my dorm entrance. Right when I walk in,I get attacked by a floating robot. "Oh Jason! You're okay! I was so worried when I couldn't heal you and I thought something bad has happened!" He kept nudging into my face with so much joy, I couldn't help but smile. "Hey Pyro, glad to see you're okay. I missed ya buddy." I look around the dorm and notice everything was still tidy. "Yeah, Leslie was really down after you were hospitalized, so I came here to take care of your place, and her as well." I look around and I'm amazed how clean it is. "Thanks man, I owe you two steaks for that matter." I reply, "Where's Leslie?" He points toward her room, which was closed. "She hasn't left her room while I've been here, but I cook her meals and leave it in front of her door. She eventually eats it, because I always get an empty tray." With that, I get kinda worried.

I walk up to her room and I raise up my hand to knock on her door. Right before I knock her door swings open and I see Leslie staring at me with a distressed face. Her eyes were read and her cheeks were puffy. I smile and say, "Hey, long time no see." She drives her head into my chest and begins crying. I turn my head nervously at Alex and he begins to gesture that I comfort her. "Hey it's okay, I'm not dead." She continues to cry. I look at Alex and he's just facepalming at me. I put my hand on her head and I say, "I didn't even thank you for saving my life, by the way." She looks up at me, still crying and sniffling, "So, thanks Leslie." She sniffs and wipes her tears away from her eyes. I turn back to Alex and he's giving me thumbs up with a big smile across his face. She looks at me and finally says something, "I've missed you so much Jason. I seriously thought something happened to you." I smile and reply, "According to the doctor and my memory, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you." She cracks a smile finally.

I finally say, "Okay, how about we have some dinner - " I look at the clock and notice it's 5 P.M., " – Yeah, dinner. Since I owe Alex here, how does steak sound?" Alex does a small celebration and Leslie nods. I served some wine to drink while we eat dinner, entertained by Alex's stories about our adventures in the outside. From meeting each other while fighting Hive in the Skywatch all the way to us slaying Oryx together. The amount of joy I felt was unmatched. Two of my greatest friends and I were having the time of our lives. It felt great to be back.

After about an hour, Alex finally left and I decided to go to the Foyer to take in the sights. While I was getting ready, I turned to Leslie, "Hey Leslie, what are you going to do?" She finished cleaning the plates before she answered, "I'm gonna catch some sleep, I haven't had a good night's rest in a few days." So she hasn't slept during the time I've been gone? Wow. "Okay, I'm gonna go walk around for a bit, alright?" She nods in agreement and begins to walk towards her room. Right before she walks in she calls me, "Hey Jason," I turn to her "Don't die next time, alright? Don't break our promise." And with that she, walks in and shuts the door.

I end up in the tower section that's usually closed off, but is now open due to Iron Banner being in town. As soon as I walk through, I see Saladin talking to Guardians one by one by one, giving some rewards and consulting others. Some guardians walked away happy, some sad, and some pumped up. Shame I'm gonna miss out on this one, but I'll definitely bring my A game next one around. I rest my arms on the railing as I absorb the feeling of nature. Suddenly I hear a voice behind me. "Well hello there Jason, good to see you here."

Ah, shit. It's Karina. She's a seductive Hunter that uses her looks to get what she wants. She's a curvy woman with too much darkness behind her mind. Her voice is dark and soothing, and her eyes warm but piercing. She has brown skin with brown hair, and very beautiful. She's wanted to get information from me for a while, usually about treasure troves that my other Hunter friends tell me about. I tend to stay away from her but she finds me, somehow. It's scary really, but she's never threatening enough for me to tell her anything.

"And how can I help you today Karina?" She smiles and puts a finger to her mouth in a thinking face. "Well, there's this bunker that the fallen own that I know is filled with tech and treasures all of fallen origin. I just wanted to ask if you know where it is." I do, it's a bunker located in Old Germany, near Munich. I've been there, loads of fallen everywhere. Barely got out alive really. But she is right about what it contains. There was Fallen prototype weapons everywhere and lots of treasure that the Fallen have scavenged. I was only there to steal schematics for any weapons I can find and bring them back here. I may have stolen some artifacts for the Cryptarchs to go nuts over. "Yeah, I know where it is. Why would you want to know?" She smiles seductively and replies, "Oh you know why Jason. And if you told me I would be in your debt. I would do anything for you." She presses her body against mine, "Anything." "Well, what you said about there being treasure, it's wrong. There's nothing there. Sorry to burst your bubble." She pulls her body away and frowns, "Oh poo, how disappointing. Oh well, I guess I'll find something else I want. Catch you later big boy, call me sometime." And with that she walks away, catching gazes as she walks out of sight.

I realize I should probably sleep since Leslie begins her training tomorrow. Now that she's unlocked her power, she needs to train. I start heading back to my dorm. Once I get there, I hear nothing but silence, and Leslie's soft snoring, meaning she's out. I change into some sleepwear and lay back in bed. I start thinking that I should ask Arcane if he's heard of any more bunkers so I can look for stuff, maybe to sell. I start yawning heavily before I inevitably fall asleep.

The next morning…

I finish making breakfast before Leslie wakes up. She shuffles into the kitchen and begins to wonder, "What's the big breakfast for?" I smile as I turn off the stove, "Well today, we are going to train! Eat up because you're going to need it!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter

The sounds of explosions can be heard from all the way down the corridor. Golden gun rounds, explosions, and knife slashes ring through my ears. The door slides open and I enter a room with a big window, revealing the side view of a training dome, similar to a fish tank. Inside I saw Leslie sitting on the ground, panting from exhaustion. The hunter on the controls was too focused to acknowledge my presence.

"So, how's the training?" The exo turns around and just sneers. "Well, I would be glad to explain all the benefits of this regime, but you're feeble titan mind probably wouldn't comprehend it." We both laugh and he goes on, "She's doing well, improving on every aspect of her subclass. She's able to use Golden Gun accurately and efficiently now, her throws for both her knife and grenades have certainly improved as well. She's still working on unlocking her skill perks and any other abilities that come with the class." "Thanks Arc, I knew I can count on you."

This exo is Arc-7, and no, not Arcane. Arc is best friends with Alex Nova, whom is used to meet Arc in the first place. He's still young in human years, but he's just as good as the rest of us. He generally uses Gunslinger as his preferred subclass, and he uses it well. He's never really one to lollygag, so he's usually the one pushing me and Alex to finish our objective. He may be of weaker light, but if it wasn't for him most of the time, we'd be dead in a river somewhere in Old Russia.

Anyway, I asked him if he could train Leslie to use her golden gun properly and excitedly replied yes. So far, it's been a week since she's started this training, and she's improved a ton. "Well, it looks like she's done for the day." I turn to look at him and ask, "It's been two hours already?" he just shakes his head and points to her in the window. I'm surprised to see her spread across the middle of the floor, huffing and puffing. "Yeah, she's done."

The airlock releases with a satisfying 'tsss' and Leslie stumbles out, looking like a mixture of sleepy and drunk. "Hey…Jason…that was…some good…training." As soon as she gets close to me, she collapses and I manage to catch her. "Good catch, Jason. She's worked hard all day. So she'll need this to recover." Arc gives me a recipe for a nutrition shake. It's filled with everything that gives you energy from fruits, even some ice cream thrown into the mix. "Give this to her as soon as you get home, and maybe, take her out tonight, she could use some relaxation. You know, like a date." I glare at him, "We're not dating Arc." He puts his hands up and replies, "Whatever, just let her have a little fun, alright?" I stare at him and agree, "Fine." I look at the digital clock on the wall and take note of the time: 1:15.

Shortly…

I sit her down on the couch as I go prepare her recovery smoothie. From the living room, I hear Leslie, "Jason, what's going on? I can't move." I continue preparing as I respond, "It's called exhaustion Lez." "Oh…this sucks." I smile as I reply, "Yes it does Leslie, yes it does." She just sighs and stays quiet until I finish the drink. When I bring it to her she looks at me with sleepy eyes, and still can't move her body. I sit next to her and hold the glass as she drinks the smoothie with a straw. She downs the beverage in about a minute and sits back to let its benefits take action.

"So Leslie, how are you feeling?" She sighs and looks at me, "This is horrible, did you have to go through all this?" I nod my head, "And more." She just sighed and put her head back.

I turned on the TV just to make things less awkward. "Hey so, I thought I'd reward you for training so hard, so how bout we go out to eat tonight?" She looks at me with curious eyes. "Ugh, I don't want to go out to a fancy shmancy restaurant." I smile and say, "Well I was thinking we could go to that popular burger joint in the City." Her eyes widened with excitement. "Travelers' Grill?!" I just nod my head and smile. "Yes! Oh that would be great!" She tried jumping but she ended up just falling on me. We both laugh as she struggles to regain strength in her body.

Later that night…

We both get ready to go out to the diner. She dresses in a simple t-shirt and jeans, while I dress in a t-shirt, jacket, and khaki shorts. We take the shuttle down to the station of the last city, and then start making our way to the diner. We walk past the shopping centre of Main Street, where many goods are sold. A bunch of stuff catch our eyes, but most of them not really interesting. We finally arrive at the diner, and the place was jam packed. We get ourselves to the front and request a table. "Good evening sir, how many for the reservation?" "Only two. For Jason" She smiles and writes it down on her clipboard. "Would you like to pay now?" I nod and turn to Leslie, "Alright, what looks good?" She looks up at the menu and hums a tune while choosing. "I'll get that #2, with no pickles and tomatoes. Oh and with a Warlocola please." I turn back to the Cashier. "Can I get two #2s, one plain and one without pickles and tomatoes." She happily punches it into the machine, "And to drink?" "One Warlocola and One Dr. Rahool." She punches that into the machine, "Okay, the total is gonna be 1,200 glimmer." I use my Vanguard Guardian card, which the Vanguard gives to every guardian just in case they do something that deserves a cash payment or gain glimmer through the field or the Cryptarch.

The lady swipes the card and her eyes widen in shock. "You're a guardian?" Leslie replies, "Well, both of us are. He's a Titan and a Hunter." She smiles with excitement and talks into her earpiece. She turns back to us and says, "Looks like a table just cleared up, follow me please." We walk towards the end of the diner where a table just for two is empty. Above it hangs the Vanguard symbol. We both take our seats and the lady says, "You're order will be priority. It's a small thank you for your sacrifice to the city." And with that, she walks away. We both look at each other and Leslie says, "We should go out to eat more often."

After our delicious meal and unwanted paparazzi attack, we head back down through Main Street and we take more time to look at the shops. We both stop by a stone shop and take our time browsing. I walk up to the old lady manning the counter and I ask about the stone changing color. "Ahh this, it changes color based on your mood. Touch it and see." She put the stone on the glass counter and I held it in my hand. The stone turned black, then slowly faded to red. "Ahh, this is a good color to see now and then." I smile and say, "Does it mean I'm kind, strong, good looking, or…" "It means that you are in love." The old lady smiles. I put the stone down and say, "Okay I've had enough of this." I turn around and see Leslie still looking at some stones. "I'll meet you outside." She looks at me and nods.

Soon after…

We finally make it back to the dorm. I check the time and notice its 9:50 already. Leslie decides to turn in early and goes to her room. I decide to watch TV for a bit. Pyro wakes up from his nap and says, "Hey Jason, I have a transmission that was sent earlier." I mute the TV and reply, "Alright let's hear it." Pyro projects a tiny Cayde on the coffee table and he begins speaking, "Hey Jason, I have a mission assignment from Zavala. You and your usual fireteam will join with another fireteam of your choosing, and together you will go do a patrol of a Fallen establishment of Old America, New York. That's tomorrow so get some rest." And then the transmission ended. I lean back and tell Pyro, "Make sure Arc and Alex's ghost forward them the message. Looks like I have to get another fireteam tomorrow." Pyro spins his shell and agrees. I decide to hit the hay too, because it seems that I have another busy day tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

*Warning - Some minor gore is in this chapter.*

The morning birds chirped to signal sunrise. Man, that's the easiest I've ever slept in a while. Today is the day when I plan a dual-team mission, just as Cayde said. On mission days, Pyro is always awake and active, and today being no exception. "Good Morning Jason! Have you decided on the other fireteam members?" I stretch out and respond, "Yeah, I've got an idea. Ring up Rev and Jasmin."

Rev Doydles is an ecstatic hunter with a knack for collecting. Anything from ships to sparrows to armor and guns, anything he finds appealing he'll make sure he gets. His armor sets are quite interesting as well. He wears a Bright Guard helmet from SRL, Iron Banner chestpiece, Oryxian gloves, and Bones of Eao. To top it all off, he wears a red Flayer's Cloak. His weapons vary from mission to mission, so I can't be very specific on that. He's a funny guy with a strong will and iron determination.

Jasmin Lee is a Warlock that I met early on during my early guardian stages. We were both assigned a patrol mission, and the story gets pretty extensive from there. She has the snark and wits of a hunter, yet the sophistication and intelligence of a warlock. After our first patrol, we kept in touch to go treasure hunting or mapping. I'm sure she'll get along with Leslie just fine.

I step out into the hallway and was expecting no noise to be heard in the dorm. But boy was I wrong. A bunch of rustling and cluttering can be heard from Leslie's room, which told me she's awake. I knock on her door to make sure she's alright, "Leslie? You alright?" Suddenly the door opens and Leslie appears in front of me geared up and ready to go. She's set in her Bog Wild gear with her Down and Doubt strapped to her thigh, my Chaperone slung around her shoulder, and the Sol Edge sheathed on her waist. "More alright as I'll ever be! I'm super excited about our mission." I stared at her, then was immediately shocked. "How did you find out? I never told you yet." She just smirks and says, "I was watching the transmission from the hallway last night." And here I thought she went to bed. I simply sigh and say, "Well, it looks like you're already set. Take off your helmet so you can eat breakfast."

I cook up some ham and eggs with toast and orange juice. While eating, Leslie turns to me, "So who are the fireteam members?" I swallow a bite of eggs, "Well you're gonna be with a couple of friends of mine. Their names are Rev and Jasmin. They're nice people, so don't be shy, okay?" She simply nods, with me feeling a slight hint of disappointment. "Alright, finish up because we're supposed to meet them in the hangar at 10:30. So that means we have 30 minutes." She takes another bite of eggs and points the fork at me, "You mean YOU have thirty minutes." She smiles at the cleverness of her statement. "Alright fine, but since you're already set, you have to wash the dishes." Her expression shifted from sheer snark to disappointment, "Agh, fine. Meanie."

Later…

"Ah! There's the dynamic duo!" Arc shouts from the meeting point. Rev and Jasmin are already standing next to Alex and Arc, impatiently waiting. We ended up being a tad late due to some minor wardrobe malfunctions for Leslie. "You two are late. Something was holding you up?" Alex asks with a sly smile. I stare at him, "No. Now shut it before I punch you to the Traveler." Not thoroughly convinced, he stays quiet with the smile still on his face. I sigh before I begin debriefing, "Alright everyone, our mission is to scout Fallen territory in New York, America. We will be split into two teams. Naturally, Arc, Alex, and I will be a fireteam. Rev and Jasmin, you'll team up with my friend and roommate Leslie," I pat her shoulder, "So introduce yourselves."

Rev holds out his hand, "Rev Doydles, treasure hunter, collecter. I hope that Jason hasn't given you much trouble recently. He can be quite the hardass when it comes to mentoring new guardians. I would know." Leslie shakes his hand and replies, "Oh certainly not. He's been a great mentor." Rev smiles and nods.

Jasmin holds out her hand next, "Jasmin Lee, Warlock, smartass. Great to meet you." Leslie shakes her hand and smiles, "And the same to you. What's your history with Jason?" She slightly blushes and replies, "I'll fill you in on that later." Quickly changing the subject before more questions are asked, "Alright, that seems about it. Now everyone, let's get to orbit."

As we were flying to Old America, Alex decided to pipe up again, "So how's your residency with Leslie so far? Have you guys slept with each other? Are you guys even a couple? Do you like her? Do you-"

"I swear to the Traveler if you ask one more question I will personally blow your ship out of the sky." Arc chuckles over the radio. "Hey Jason, take it easy. Really we've all been wondering the same thing. You've lived so long alone ever since Arcane moved out. Now all of the sudden you have a new roommate, who's a girl, and a hunter, and – may I add – very beautiful. So naturally we would be interested.

I sigh, "You know Arc, if that wasn't so well worded, I would've made the same threat to you. But yeah, I see where you guys are coming from, but truthfully I don't really see her as a love interest. At least –" "So does that mean I can go for it?" Alex pipes up. "No Alex." I shut down his thought quickly. "Frankly, I haven't really been interested in love. Not that because I can't find anyone – " "Yeah everyone loves titans, with their good looks and muscles and heroic tales…" Alex mumbles. I smile and continue "It's that, I'm afraid of it. Ever since what happened with…" "Vaticus and Stephanie, right?" Arc says. "Yeah…ever since then." I reply.

It was when we were early guardians. It was a fireteam of six to go out and patrol Old Great Britain. It was us 3, Vaticus, Stephanie, and another Titan. Vaticus was an awoken Hunter, very snarky but honorable. He loved goofing around but was always prioritizing the task at hand. Stephanie was a serious but caring person, never took any trouble lightly, and was always prepared for any situation. Those two were lovebirds. They were never separated, even during missions. We were assigned to map out the underground metro tunnels and report back anything we find. It was a simple task, but we all went as a team of six for safe keeping.

I was a striker back then. Solely a Striker. Alex was a Voidwalker and Arc was a Gunslinger. The other three were our alternate subclasses, so the Titan was a Defender, Vaticus was a Bladedancer, and Stephanie was a Sunsinger. We had a well balanced team, we were unstoppable. Upon touching ground, we were attacked by Fallen patrol after Fallen patrol. It was easy pickings for us. The mission felt so easy, until we reached the tunnels.

"Ah jeez, it smells so disgusting down here," complained Arc, "it reeks of hive." I sniff and agree, "Yeah, it smells like the moon down here. Be careful everyone." We walked through the tunnels, carefully tracking which tunnel leads to where. It was mostly quiet, with an occasional thrall popping up here and there. "You know, this place gives me the creeps." Alex said with a slight quiver in his voice. He was right. There was no tunnel lighting so our ghosts served as flashlights. "Hey Stephanie, you can hold on to me if you feel scared." I heard Vaticus say. "Well honey it seems like you're the one who's shaking, not me," replies Stephanie. I chuckle at their conversation. Just a little more and then we can go home.

"Wait." The Titan held out his hand and stopped us. I was about to ask why we stopped until I heard it too. Faint screams were coming from the tunnel – but which way? They got closer and closer. "In front of us! Watch out!" The Titan yelled as he threw a grenade. The flash temporarily lit our enemy. It was an entire army of thrall, charging straight for us. "Shit! Everyone, retreat!" I yelled. We ran, but those thrall were fast. We had to fight, we didn't know where we were going.

"Shit...shit shit shit!" I mumbled to myself. I turned and threw a lighting grenade on the wall, zapping rows of thrall into dust. I pulled out my auto rifle and began to mow down thrall after thrall. We fought and fought and fought. A thrall jumped at me and I punched its head into the ground. Alex looked well due to his life steal ability and his deadly aim with his Vision of Confluence. Arc was holding his own, throwing his seemingly infinite knives at the craniums of the thrall. A small ding was heard, then another knife was thrown. My Shadow Price was helping me stay alive. Everytime a thrall go close I executed it in some way. A thrall flanked me and scratched my side. I turned and grabbed it by the neck, then threw it at another thrall. The Titan was impenetrable. His close-quarter skills were better than mine. Every time a thrall disintegrated from his punch, he would glow purple. No matter how much the thrall scratched at the shield, it would simply recharge. Vaticus was doing amazing. His recovery wasn't letting him fall. His quick blade skills sliced and diced thrall into nothing. I looked for Stephanie and I couldn't find her.

"NO!" I heard her blood-curdling scream. I look further down the tunnel and I see a wave of thrall charge, with Stephanie at the front of it. I crushed a Thrall's skull and yelled, "Stephanie! Get back!" Vaticus turned to see Stephanie stuck fighting thrall, unaware of the horde coming in. "Stephanie! No!" Vaticus screamed and tried to push towards her, but to no avail. "Run! Everyone run! I'll be okay!" She yelled. Alex and Arc nodded and turned. I had to drag Vaticus back while the other Titan was supporting me with cover fire. "No! Stephanie! Let me go! I'm not leaving her!" he struggled and wriggled. "Let me go now! I'm not – " Suddenly, an agonizing screech was heard coming from down the tunnel. Vaticus elbowed me in the side, making me drop him. He took off down the tunnel. "Vaticus!" I yelled his name over and over but he didn't turn.

"Guys! We need to go get him!" I yelled. "Why? He may already be dead!" Arc snapped. "We leave no man behind. At least support him!" Arc stayed silent, and then he told Alex to come along. The other Titan followed with no resistance. We immediately noticed the retreat of the thrall. There was significantly less around. We called out their names, but we heard no reply. We wondered if they got out safe, or they were pushed down the tunnel further. Alex answered that question soon enough. "Guys…look." He pointed to where his ghost was looking. We saw something crouch and slouched over, looking like it was holding something. As we got closer, we realized it was Vaticus, and in his arms was the dead, lifeless body of his lover.

"No…those damn Hive…those cursed Hive!" He yelled in agony. Next to him were two shattered machines. We immediately knew they were ghosts. Literal dead ghosts. "I sacrificed my ghost to try to revive her. No, those savage creatures grabbed it out of the air and tore it up. Similar to the fate of her ghost." He kept his back turned to us. I noticed there was a pool of blood around him, staining his knees and lower legs, along with the bottom of his cloak. I got a better view of her body and I was horrified. Her body was covered in scratches, with many of them bleeding. Her neck and chest were torn open, with some of her innards slightly distanced from its host on the rails. "Vaticus…" I reached out to touch his shoulder. "Get away from me! You abandoned her! You all abandoned her!" "Had we not ran, we would've been dead too!" Alex yelled. "In truth, with my love gone, I have nothing to live for." He put his Hand Cannon to his temple. I tried to stop him, "Vaticus No!" I reached, but it was too late. He pulled the trigger, and his head snapped to the side. He fell down lifeless on the rails, blood seeping out of his head. I immediately took off my helmet and threw up. "I already alerted the Vanguard," said the Titan as rumbling was heard down the tunnels with the sound of boots, "Let's go home." I walked over to the corpses and joined their hands and shut their eyes. "Sleep well Guardians. May the Traveler keep your love strong for eternity." I didn't sleep that entire night.

That next day a funeral ceremony was held. Many guardians came to pay their respects. Many of them talked to us to get some closure from their final moments. I never fully recovered from that experience. I still see their faces. That was the one mission I regret going to. I didn't sleep that night either. Instead I cried silently. I cried and cried. Their faces and corpses permanently burned into my head. Why… why…

"Jason? You okay?" I snapped back into the present. Everyone was staring at me. We were on the ground already, in the middle of a city. Ruined buildings stood all around us, with rusted cars sitting on the streets, many of them still containing skeletons. I shake my head, "Yeah, I'm good." We were sitting around in a circle, which made me notice that everyone gave me a concerned look. "Alright," I clap my hands and put on my helmet, "you all know your tasks. Let's get to work. Good luck and stay safe."

 **AN: Sorry for the no updates! Testing in school has been rough since its march. But spring break is rolling around so I will update more. Thanks for sticking around!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

New York was a barren wasteland. Eroded skyscrapers stood into the sky, destroyed vehicles littered the streets, some of them still containing skeletons. We walked as a group towards the reference point on where the Fallen establishment was. I was in the front, constantly checking the map to see our location. Jasmin and Leslie were chatting it up both of them sometimes blushing. Arc and Alex were in the back of the pack, doing the same as the girls. Rev was to our right, constantly looking around. Not sure if he's doing that to stay aware, or he's looking for something valuable to collect.

We come up at the reference point. "Jason, why'd we stop?" Leslie asked. I don't answer but I look around trying to spot anything Fallen. 'Nothing to me left, or right, or on the ground.' I thought, 'Then what if…' I look up and sure enough, there's signs of fallen activity in the two towers we are standing under. A collapsed sky crane connects the two towers, which explains why Cayde wanted two teams for this.

"You've got to be kidding." Rev complains as he looks up. "Well, Fallen aren't exactly the jokesters." says Arc. I notice that the crane is sloped up towards the tower to the right, that means it should be where the leader is, whoever it is. "Alright guys," I finally say, "Let's get climbing. My team will take the right tower, and Leslie's team will take the left tower." Jasmin stomps her foot, "Are you kidding me, that's like 75 stories up. Do you expect us to climb all that?" "Or, you can use the grappling hook that every guardian has on their belt." I point to mine on my waist. She nods in agreement, "Or yeah, we can use that. I forget we have that."

As soon as we enter the building, we notice that the floors have chunks of it missing, probably to give ease of access for shanks or any other transport. Luckily it made it easy to grapple, allowing us to jump about 6-8 floors at time. "How are you guys holding up?" I said into the comms, with Leslie shortly replying. "We're holding up. Luckliy the fire escape is large enough so we can use grapples, but only one at a time." "Alright, stay safe and keep an eye out."

Once we got to the 70th floor, it was just simple climbing. The Fallen broke down the floors so they sloped into the next one. Suddenly, an alarm goes off in the building, and Fallen start to rush us. "Jason, what's going on? I hear a siren." I shoot a dreg's head off and it explodes, killing its comrades. "Oh, we just tripped an alarm; I think it's just our building. Stay wary!" A vandal got too close so I blasted it with my Stolen Will. Arc was using his sniper to pick off Vandals on the opposite ends of the room, while Alex was machine gunning his way up the floors. A group of Vandals burst through a door, and my hud pings them as gold, instead of red. "Alex!" I yell at him and point to the mob. He jumps and glows purple, a short hiss is heard before he flicks his hand, shooting out 3 balls of powerful void light. The vandals immediately combust once the bombs come in contact with them, dematerializing into nothing. As soon as he touches the ground, orbs of light drop from his being. He stands up to look at his left hand, then clenches it. "Gets stronger every time." I run by him to absorb the orbs of light, "Not the time to be admiring your destruction, let's move."

We get to the 75th floor and finally see the crane bridge. It was built upon to actually serve as a bridge. Its metal parts mended with concrete to provide a strong, supportive bridge. We continue onward until we reach a set of closed doors. We countdown to breach, but once inside, we see an empty throne, and a shank floating next to it, looking at us. It didn't attack us, but was just hovering. Suddenly, it begins speaking. "Hello vile creatures of the darkness. We knew of your arrival by the spotting of the scouts a time ago. We knew you would send your team of six, splitting them once you got to these towers. We also knew you would send your strongest soldiers here, leaving the weaker ones in the other tower." No, that means… Suddenly, I hear Leslie is calling out in the comms, "Jason! Help us! They ambushed us! We're being captured! Please hurry, they're-" static. The shank continued, "So, we are going to capture your allies and drain them of their power for our use. You have a choice here. Abandon you're allies and flee alive, or attempt a rescue that will lead to your death. The choice is yours." I shoot the shank, exploding it into pieces. "You guys ready?" Alex rearms his machine gun, "Of course. No guardian left behind." Arc twirls his throwing knife around his finger, "Let's go rescue our friends." With that we take off running across the bridge.

We land in a small room which served as the landing point for the other side of the bridge. To the right we see an emergency escape. Alex takes a quick peek and notices it's a starwell. We make no of it and continue onward. I had Pyro ping the location of our closest team member. We sprint into a hallway and into another open doorway. We run into the room and down the slope. In the room directly in front of us, we see Jasmin desperately fighting off Fallen, but they held her and kept forcing her into the machine. Supposedly, this machine drains a guardian of its light, leaving them as dry as a raisin. I throw an incendiary grenade, blowing up all the Fallen around her. She drops to the ground, still weak from fighting. "Hurry," she says "they took Rev and Leslie deeper into the building. The probably have the same fate as me." Alex takes her towards the emergency exit so they can grapple to the ground. Arc and I continue on.

Fallen try getting in the way, hoping to buy some time for their allies to drain my friends. A group of Dregs run out of room and start firing at us. I shoot one in the head and it explodes, bringing the rest of its squad with him. I peek into the room they came from and hear something ticking. We check the room and notice they have a bomb ticking down. "Pyro, scan this bomb and give me some info." He scans the device in blue light for a few seconds and reports back. We take off sprinting again as he briefs me. "They set up lots of explosives in this building. It looks like they plan on blowing up the structure. Current time left is 25 minutes."

We bust down a door to find Rev screaming in pain. He was already trapped in the device. It looks like a blue cylinder, but its back was all metal. Arc and I start firing at the Fallen at the machine, quickly dropping them before they can react. Arc has his ghost start working on disabling the machine. In the meantime, two groups of Fallen run through the doors, one a group of dregs and the other shanks. Quickly, they spread out around the room. Maybe they saw what happened to their other squads if I headshot one of them. I throw a grenade and take out a chunk of their forces. I start to shoot down the shanks as Arc begins working on the dregs. His scout rifle's deadly accuracy was helping him shoot the dregs' heads clean off. As we killed the last dreg, two captains come through the doors, armed with arc blades. I pull out my sword and have my Imago Loop ready on my left hand. Arc arms himself with his knife and scout rifle. One captain charges and slashes at me. I roll to the side as I fire to take down his shield. He slashes again and I block his attack, emptying the rest of my magazine into his body, disabling his shield. He recoils and steps back. I kick him off and spin to slash straight through his neck, decapitating him. When I look up, I see Arc standing over the captain, sprawled on the floor. He aims the barrel to its head and fires, leaving it motionless. Just in time we see the machine deactivate and Rev drop in exhaustion. "Arc, you take him." He looks at me, "Are you sure?" I nod, "Yeah, I have to go save my friend." Arc begins to carry him away and I take off sprinting.

I run down two more floors till I find what I'm looking for. In the room was 2 things; the machine with Leslie in it, and the Fallen controlling it. The Fallen turns around at its ID'd as Tesian, Baron Exiled. He turns and begins to speak, but ghost translates it. "Ah Elinski, you have arrived. I had a hunch that this one was important. It's a good thing I saved her for the deepest parts of the tower." I had ghost translate what I said to him, "Let her go Baron." What I said came out as growls due to the translation. I aim my Imago Loop at him. "Ah no, we can't have that can we?" He says as he presses a button on the control panel behind him and my Imago Loop and Stolen Will shoot up to the ceiling and stick. "What? But how?" I stutter. He laughs and unsheathes his twin arc blades, "We are going to have a match of honor, pest." I sigh and unclip my Raze Lighter from my belt, "Very well, but I'm going to make this quick." I begin to whisper, "Hey Pyro, get ready to jump out and start disabling the machine once I'm close enough, alright?" Futuristic clicking is heard from my ear, "Alright Jason, I get it. Good luck."

The Baron charges at me at full speed, so I dodge roll to the left. He crashes into a wall but shakes it off rather quickly. I got close enough to the panel for Pyro to begin disabling. Good thing Tesian didn't notice. He charges again but slower, most likely to slash. Sure enough, his right arm slashes diagonally down, then his left does the same. I parry his right slash and I slash him a few times in the torso. The sharpness of my blade left a deep cut in his torso, which only seemed to make him more angry. He charged with the same attack, only when I side-stepped to avoid his slash he punched me in the side. The sudden hit made me recoil, so he took this opportunity to strike. His blade cut my right arm and the left side of my chest. The blade must have been extremely sharp to cut through my armor. I regained my footing and this time I was on the attack. I slashed so fast Tesian need both his swords to block my attacks. I managed to get a hit by slicing off his lower left arm. The heat of the blade instantly cauterized the wound. His anger was leading him to become more sloppy but powerful. He tried to bring down both blades on me, but I dodged and sliced off his other lower arm. He roared in pain and surprised striked me, cutting my left cheek, even through my armor. I felt the draft through the fracture. Suddenly I heard the machine deactivate, and Leslie drops motionless. Tesian quickly drops one of his blades and grabs Leslie. He holds his blade up to her neck, "You step any closer and she dies." "Uh, Jason, you have 5 minutes until the bombs blow." Well damn, looks like I'm in a pickle. "Let her go," I say as I step forward, "or you die in her stead. I take another step forward and he slashes her arm, making her scream in pain. I suddenly hear Pyro's voice out loud, "Oh boy, now you've done it."

My body is engulfed in flames. Tesian backs up but doesn't drop her. An anvil strike later, a silver flaming hammer is summoned in my left hand. I throw it at him but purposely miss, landing behind him to burn his back. He lurches forward in pain and I quickly move forward. Another hammer appears in my hand and I strike Tesian under the head, knocking him away from her. I notice she starts to move, which gives me some assurance. I continue walking forward towards Tesian, who is sitting on the floor dazed. He refocuses as I get closer to him and begins to shuffle backwards until he hits a wall. I stand in front of him and strike him on the side of the head with my hammer, making him fall on his side. "You… you monster! You wield power undeserving to you!" I crouch down and look down at him. "Undeserving? Ridiculous. You brought this down on yourself but hurting my friends. Sadly, I am just fresh out of mercy to spare once you brought pain to that girl. The only reward you are getting out of this is death. The reaper is here for you." Tesian begins to cough and hack, "You claim to be the reaper, yet the reaper controls darkness! Not light!" "Wrong," I say as I stand up, "the reaper controls fire." With that, I impale my sword into his head, then withdrawing. My flames die down and my hammer disappears as I run for Leslie. Ghost transported my weapons to my inventory already, luckily. Leslie was laying face down when I turned her over. I took off her helmet and checked her vitals. She was breathing and still had a pulse, wonderful. "Leslie? Are you okay?" She slowly opens her eyes. She looks at me and touches the wound on my cheek, still bleeding, "You're hurt, I'm sorry." "Leslie we have to get out of here, c'mon." As I begin to pick her up Pyro suddenly yells, "Jason, this place is about to blow! We won't make it to the stairwell!" I look around the room desperately until I had an idea. "How much longer?" "Literally like 10 seconds!" I smile and say, "Perfect." I back up to one side of the room and throw a grenade at the windows, shattering them open. I grab Leslie bridal-style and begin sprinting towards the window. I happen to miscount how much time I have left because instead of doing a jump and controlled descent 67 stories, the bombs exploded right as I got in front of the window, blasting me forward and out the window.

Now in moments like this I usually have a plan B, but when you just got shot out of an exploding building like a guardian-sized cannonball and currently plummeting down to earth very fast, there's not much I can do. Time seemed to slow down as we fell. I made sure I didn't lose grip of Leslie, even when upside down. Aha! I hatched a plan, I slowly moved us in the air so I was falling backwards. I looked over my shoulder and saw the ground was approaching fast. I closed my eyes and used Lift as we got closer to the ground and eventually came in contact with earth.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I felt weightless, light. Like, super light. That's when I realize I'm floating, but I can't see anything. Just darkness. I feel like I'm being pulled to the surface of a body of water, leaving whatever is at the bottom behind. The pulling sensation slowly fades to stop, then a sudden bright flash overwhelms my senses. I suddenly feel like I'm falling again, only this time I'm not panicking. I just spread my non-existent arms and just let myself fall. Just as soon as it started, the falling sensation stops. I still can't see, I think I may be blind. All I see is white, nothing else. A faint beeping starts somewhere, I don't know where. It gets progressively louder until it sounds like its right next to me. My eyes finally take the liberty to refocus. That's when I realize I'm in a hospital bed…again.

I look around the white room, trying to get a grip on what happened. I can't remember what happened that made me wound up here. I attempt to get up, but my legs feel incredibly weak. I grip on the IV dispenser for support and slowly make my way out the door. I immediately notice there's no one around, no doctors, no nurses, no patients, nothing. I try calling out, but it seems like I forgot to unmute myself. My voice wouldn't work, not a sound is leaving my throat. I wander down the hallway trying to see if I can find someone. I turn the corner and I see a man in a white coat writing something on his clipboard.

The man looks up and smiles at me, as if he was expecting me. He was incredibly handsome, similar to an actor. His face looked like it was chiseled by the traveler himself. If there's a reason why no guardian is perfect, it's because the Traveler gave all the beauty points to this guy. "Jason, correct?" he says finally. I simply nod because I still can't speak. "It's good to finally meet you. I've seen your work, and might I say I am very impressed." His voice was deep and smooth, extremely alluring. Like he can read one of the cryptarch's boring reports and I'd listen to them with no protest. Wait- my work? As a guardian? How does he know? Who is he? "I always want to meet you guardians, but my condition basically denies me the power to. What I'm doing now is all I'm capable of." He can't be…there's no way. I raise my finger at him in awe and just smiles, "Yes yes, I am your dear Traveler."

"Thank goodness this happen to you, no offense however. Your current state allows me to intercept your conscious and talk to you." My state? What does he mean? "You may not remember, but you're on the verge of death at the moment." Death? No.. no way. All my friends, everyone. I let go of the IV dispenser and drop to the floor, tears start to welt on my eye lids. " Take it easy, Jason. You will live, I ensure it. Besides, you have too much left to do on earth as a guardian to die now. It is simply not your time." He holds out his hand to help me up. Upon grabbing it, I feel a rush of energy. My legs suddenly feel strong again. "Listen to me Jason. You are doing a perfect job as a guardian out there." I give a confident smile, it's not every day you get complimented by god himself. "However," my smile washes away, "you are not doing so well as a person. You are putting your duty in front of your humanity. Sacrificing your friends for a mission accomplish. While yes you are worrying about them by putting yourself in the line of fire, it is still selfish by the end of the day. Your friends get hurt seeing you hurt. And almost killing yourself twice certainly doesn't help. Harming yourself to bring relief to those around you is not true. Care for your friends and they will care for you. Don't put the blame on yourself and carry the responsibilities alone, Jason. Nothing good comes from self harm."

Tears start streaming from my eyes. He's right. My sense of duty is putting my life on the line. The day I finally die from that will hurt my friends more than any bullet would. My death would not only affect me, but those around me. Putting myself in danger is selfish and cruel to myself and my friends. "Now," I look up at him "our time is almost up. It was good finally meeting you Jason. Hopefully you take my words to heart." I feel myself start to lean back, eventually into another freefall. I hear the beeping again. It sounds like it's trying to catch up to me. As the beeping gets louder, the wind in my ears fades until eventually I'm looking at the ceiling. The beeping reduces to a constant, steady pace. I try moving but my body feels incredibly sore. I look around the room and I still see nobody. I let out a groan to try to sit up, but fail miserably. At least my voice works now, can't say the same for everything else. A nurse walks in checking her board, "Hey nurse, can I get something to drink, I'm quite parched."

She got me a soda, which is good enough. I just sat alone drinking my cola, thinking about what the traveler said. Was it really him or was I hallucinating from my near death experience? Either way, he was right. I need to change, I need to start worrying about my friends, cause they clearly worry about me. I take another sip of my soda. I feel a mood of fear and rage closing in. I take another sip. There can only be one person who would want to kill me and hug me at the same time right now. I sip one more time. She bursts through the door, her eyes puffy and red from crying, but maybe also from anger. She stomps over to me, looking like she's ready to strangle me. I struggle to raise my hands to calm her down, "Hey Leslie, there's no need to - " She throws her arms around my neck and pulls herself towards me, sitting down at my bedside "You idiot, you big idiot." Her eyes start to water. I smile and put my left arm on her back. "You'd really think I'd break our promise?" She just doesn't say anything and just sit there. Well since I almost died – again – I might as well let her sit here as long as she wants.

We sat there for a good while. Neither of us said anything. With the silence being long overdrawn, I speak up, "Hey Leslie, how are you feeling?" Without moving, she responds, "This is the second time you almost died, right in front of me I may add. How do you think I'm feeling?" I chuckle, "Fair enough." Suddenly I hear from the door, "Am I intruding yet again?" Leslie jumps and we both turn to the door. Alex is leaning against the frame with a smug smile. "Don't worry, I won't say anything about this. I promise." Leslie turns away, probably blushing. "Anyway, I'm glad you're alive Jason. That Titan armor doesn't mess around on it protective capabilities huh? You survived solely because of your armor breaking your fall. No way a Hunter or Warlock could survive that." I laugh, "What can I say? I'm a stubborn Titan who's hard to kill."

The doctor walks in past Alex, "Boy are you Titans difficult to incapacitate. You'll make a full recovery, however, I'm going to ask for you to avoid grueling mission s for a few days while your light recovers from the blow and starts the adaptive healing. Until then, you're going to be sore for a while." I smile, "Thanks Doc, keep up the good work." He nods and replies, "Thank you. And with that you are free to leave. Take care." And with that he walks out. Alex hands me a bag with a change of clothes. Leslie takes off before us, heading home. I take my time in changing because of my body aching so much. Soon, we leave the hospital and catch the osprey back to the tower. The warm evening sun washes my body with sunlight. Cool air rushes my senses, invigorating me with the power of nature. "Ah, I can't get enough of this feeling." I say to myself. Alex smiles, "Yeah man, I know what you mean." We continue walking to the station, talking all the way there. I don't mention my near-death encounter with Alex or Leslie. I want to change on my own, and hopefully then everyone will notice it slowly.

We finally get back to my dorm after a while. I turn to Alex, "Hey, since its dinner time, want to stay? My treat." He grins with excitement, "Alright!" I open the door and instantly my face is hit with the smell of cooked chicken. Both Alex and I are dumbfounded. We look in the kitchen and see Leslie making dinner. "Um, Leslie? What are you doing?" I ask. She turns to us and smiles, "Well obviously I'm making dinner. Just finished actually. Here you go, enjoy!" She puts two plates on the table. We approach the plates and immediately notice what it is. "Rice bowls? You made this?" I ask. She puts sauce on the table and nods. "I could always cook, but since you did all the cooking I never got the chance to. Think of this as a small thank you for everything." I look at the food and my stomach instantly starts growling. Alex laughs, "Alright, no point in letting this food go to waste. Let's dig in!" I nod in agreement. The evening was filled with laughter, chatter, and the smell of food. I guess this is something I'd miss if I threw my life away. There's no way I'd miss this. Not if I have a say in it.

Alex leaves shortly after dinner, satisfied with his meal. I start washing the dishes and Leslie cleans up the table. She puts away the half-consumed whiskey bottle back in the alcohol pantry. "Hey Jason, I need to tell you something." Her words are slurred and long, she might have had too much to drink. I simply drank enough so my pain went away, even if temporarily. She gives me a hug from behind, "Please don't die again. I can fight for myself. If I die, then I die. I know you can't always be there to rescue me, so I need to get stronger." She holds me tighter, pressing herself closer to my back. "Besides," she whispers into my ear, "There's still plenty we have yet to do as roommates." I quickly turn around and put my hand on her head, holding her head, "Yeah I may be drunk, but I don't think so." She gives a disappointed look, "Ah Jason you're so cold-hearted."

Some time passes and Leslie eventually passes out on the couch, probably for the best. I leave a glass of water on the table next to the couch. I retire to my bed, still incredibly sore and the alcohol taking it's toll on my battered body. I lie in bed and stare at the ceiling. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to change. No longer will I act selfish. I will transform for the better. My eyelids slowly close and I eventually knock out after being tired from being dead.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I wake up to the usual sound of birds chirping from outside the window. Light shines into my room, illuminating the entire space with a warm glow. I walk into the living room and notice Leslie is still asleep on the couch. Poor thing, can't handle her alcohol. I laugh to myself at that thought, and continue to the kitchen to make breakfast. In the middle of making breakfast, Leslie wakes up and stands at the kitchen door, obviously fatigued from the hangover. "What are doing so early in the morning?" I look at the stove's clock, "Its 11:30 in the morning." She just sighs and rubs her eyes. "Oh and by the way, I left you painkillers and some water on the table next to the couch." She nods her head, "Yeah, I saw them. Thank you by the way." I smile and reply, "Finish the glass of water at least. I'll let you know when breakfast is done." She nods slowly and shuffles back to the living room.

"Food's done!" I announce into the living room. She gets up and slowly walks to the kitchen table. I put the two omelets down on the table, along with a small plate of bacon. I set down two glasses and bring out a container of apple juice. She sits at the table and looks at the food before her. The morning light must be blinding her, because it looks like she doesn't have her eyes open. She inhales and whispers, "This all smells so good. I could cry right now." I chuckle as I pour her a glass of apple juice, " _Bon appétit._ " Upon taking a bite of the omelet, she seemingly begins to radiate like a Sunsinger, all while still keeping the sleepy expression on her face.

Over the course of the meal, she begins to slowly wake up. Yet throughout the meal, she looks uncomfortable. Like something is itching to reveal itself inside her. Once we finish eating, I clean up the plates, but leave the glasses if either one of us wanted more juice. I sat back down at the table to see her looking down at the glass of juice in her hands. I swallow my nervousness and ask, "Hey Leslie, you okay? You don't seem…you… today." She continues to stare at the glass, then responds, "I was just trying to find a way to say this without inflicting pain." My nervousness comes back and I wonder what she could be thinking. After a long silence, she finally answers my question. "I want to go on my own for a while." A short silence fills the room, yet it seemed like eternity. Her face is filled with concern and passion. I have little to say.

"What made you decide on that verdict?" She looks back down at the glass, "Because I'm tired of you putting your life on the line for my sake. I don't want to be known as the damsel in distress. I may have gotten stronger since becoming a guardian, but I'm not strong enough to accompany you on your missions. I know we have been through so much during our little time together, but I'd figure if I asked you to let me fly solo, maybe I can convince you to let me do so. I'm not sure how stern you are, but I hope-" I down some juice and reply, "Sure, go ahead. You don't need my permission." I was expecting a sigh of relief from her, or maybe a look of security. Instead I was hit with a face filled with surprised confusion, "What? Are you serious? That's it? No argument for my safety or whatnot?" I Shake my head, "I'm your roommate, not your parent, Vanguard, superior, or anything of the sorts." The look still hasn't wiped from her face, "But-but-but you're supposed be my mentor! You're supposed to be out for my best interest and safety." I laugh, "That's why I'm okay with you going solo. The best teachings happen in the field, not a training room. And also, I'm the last person you should talk to about safety." She slumps back in her chair, sighing from a relieving defeat.

"Did almost dying knock a few screws loose Jason?" said holographic Cayde, projected by Pyro. "Are you serious about letting her go on solo missions after the shenanigans you two have been involved in?"

I sigh, "Yes I know that, but how do you expect her to become a better guardian when she's not getting any fighting experience. In fact, she hasn't unlocked Bladedancer or Nightstalker. She hasn't mastered golden gun to its entirety. I say give her this chance. Send another hunter with her at least then, since you feel nervous." He looks at me with concern. I can tell he's thinking about it critically, since this is one of his hunters we're talking about. "Alright, I got an idea. I'll assign a mentor hunter with her. She's going to do a training camp out in the wild." I smile, "That sounds good. Just make sure you set someone good in case the going gets rough." He nods then ends the live feed. I lay back on the couch and breathe a sigh of relief. There are still parts of me that don't want to do this. I don't want her out somewhere where I can't protect her. At the same time, she can't become better by just being saved by me. This is for the better. I hope.

A day later…

We both stand at the shipyard, awaiting her partner for this camp. I turn to her, "Nervous?" She looks at me and gives me a worried smile, "Of course I am. I have no clue what's in store for me." She exhales, but I can tell she's a lot more nervous than I am. Eventually, her mentor arrived. A Crucible-class ship approaches us and lands. The walkway hisses open and out walks a female hunter. She was slightly taller than average, probably almost 6 feet. She was obviously built, judging by her walk style. Both masculine traits didn't overshadow her femininity. She was hourglass shaped, with strong-looking legs and a thin, muscular core. She was armored in odd-looking gear. This gear looked like it was earned through strikes and raids beaten. Her cloak was white and had gold in its fabric. Her armor was colored black with gold accents. Her boots were covered in bones, signifying that she was wearing the Bones of Eao. She pulled back her hood and took off her helmet. Her dark brown hair flowed past her shoulders. Her eyes were also a dark shade of brown. They were soft but sharp at the same time, like she could give you a tender kiss one second then strangle you the next. She had a slender head, contrasting her build body. Freckles spotted her cheeks, her lips were average sized. Her face was the face of a model, while she looked like she competed in weightlifting competitions. As she walked toward us, her feminine sway slashed with her strong build, but in a good way. She looks like a strong titan and a beautiful hunter had a child with the best genes from both parents. Her eyes pierced mine as she got closer. I have never been more intimidated by a hunter in my life. Leslie saw that I was petrified by her appearance and pouted. She finally reached us and opened her mouth to speak, "My name is Carol Springer, female Hunter. And you are Titan Jason, I presume?" She held out her hand. Her voice was rich but deeper than an average woman's voice. It was strong but delicate. It resembled a good drink after a long, hard day out in the field. I snap out of my hypnosis and reply, "Y-Yes, good to meet you, Carol." I reach out and shake her hand. Her grip was strong and firm.

Suddenly her grip loosened, but refused to let go. I notice that she's looking down. Leslie and I look at each other confused. "Um, Carol?" She snaps up and has a big smile on her face, with tears forming up at her eyes. "I'm sorry I'm just so happy." Our confused thoughts grow more. She lets go of my hand and speaks more, "Can-can you please sign my cloak?" Still confused, I take the permanent marker and sign my name on her cloak, near the left shoulder. She pulls off the cloak and hugs it tight, "I'm never going to wear this cloak again. Everyone will be so jealous." I hand her back the marker and pipe up, "Excuse me, but what is going on?" She finishes changing into a different cloak and explains. "Jason, you don't know?" My look of confusion was sufficient. "You're a famous guardian Jason. You're one of the most famous guardians. It all started on your rise in the crucible, then your mastery of your subclasses, following next your achievements with the Iron Banner, then your conquests against the darkness. You have gained so many fans that idolize you – me included – and you also gained the respect of many fellow guardians as well. You don't realize how many people wanted to be your roommate, but no one got accepted. Then to add fire to the flame, you gained a roommate and everyone heard how you protected her with your life." I whisper to Leslie, "She's bonkers." She nods back and replies, "Yup, totally nuts." She then steps in front of Leslie and stares at her with stars in her eyes. "So how is he as a roommate? Caring, funny, how?" Leslie nervously laughs, "Well, he's nice and tidy. He cooks, cleans, and makes sure everything is organized." Carol smiles wide and exclaims, "Oh what homey qualities. You are so lucky." I clear my throat, "Well then I'd like to introduce you to your trainee, Leslie." Leslie waves, probably because she's scared of Carol.

Suddenly she calms down and swaps from fangirl to commander. "Yes, I am already aware of you Leslie. I'm glad to say that I'm excited to train you." She shakes Leslie's hand, and then turns to me. "As for the mission, we will be out in the wild for an undetermined amount of time. Is that okay with you?" I nod, "As long as both of you return safely and in one piece." Carol smiles, "I will see to that being the only outcome of this mission." We shake hands and Leslie follows Carol back to the ship. I grab Leslie's shoulder before she steps on the walkway, "Hey, don't worry. Carol will bring you back safe. Just focus on training, okay?" She smiles and nods, then walks up the ramp. I take a few steps back and watch as the crucible jumpship leaves the yard.

Sometime later, about two weeks…

My ship pulls into the port after another patrol mission. I gather whatever artifacts and treasure I found and do my routines. I hand whatever golden age tech or weird contraptions to the cryptarch for him to study. I trade useful items and supplies for glimmer and strange coins to the Vanguard. I give Banshee some weapons for him to upgrade my equipment or turn into new weapons all together. I take my payments to Xur, who happen to be there that day, and trade my coins for gear and consumables. After getting all my shopping done, I head home.

I open my door to an empty dorm, again. Every day I expect to see some sign of life in the dorm. Leslie's room is still empty and dark. I check the time and notice it's pretty late. I didn't realize how long I was adventuring through Fallen territory, gathering intel and putting down major figures in the hierarchy. I hadn't realized how tired I was until I took off my armor and sat on my couch. I whip up a quick dinner and go to shower. It's been almost two weeks since I'd seen Leslie. I have no idea of her whereabouts or condition. I never realized that being alone again would be this unsettling. But, it was for her own good. I didn't want to go with her because I would get myself killed. This is my first step at being unselfish. I step out of the shower and put on some sleepwear. I look outside the window and see the Traveler illuminated by the city lights, "How's that for a change big guy?"

The morning was equally as quiet, of course until I got the call. I was eating my breakfast when Pyro hovered up to me in a hurry, "Good Morning Jason, you have an urgent call incoming." I swallow a bit of my food and reply, "Alright, answer." Pyro projects Cayde's image on the table. "Morning Jason, sleep well?" I swallow some more food. "Get to the point Cayde, what is it? Fallen battalion assaulting somewhere they shouldn't be? Or maybe you got some pointers saying the Hive are gathering somewhere?" he shakes his head, "Neither, I have a search mission for you." "Interesting, what exactly am I looking for? Secret bases? Enemy intelligence?" He shakes his head once again, "A missing person." I stop eating. "Missing persons? That's not something I hear every day. Is it someone from the last city?" He shakes his head again, "No, you're looking for a guardian." I listen more intensively as he goes on. "You will be looking for a guardian on Venus, we have lost communications with them and we can't reestablish connections." I put down my utensils, and my breathing gets a bit faster, "How long have they been silent?" "As of now, for about a few hours." I feel nervous from within, " What gave you the idea that they're in trouble?" He reads off a few papers, "There was a distress signal transmitted from the frequency before disconnection." My heart starts to beat faster, "What is the ship designation and pilot name?" He turns to the next paper and continues, "Crucible-class arcadia Jumpship No. BH-7642." My breathing suddenly becomes panicked. My heart pounds against my chest. A feeling of horror envelops my mind. "Distress beacon did not come from the ship, but a ghost. Nicknamed June. Message reads, 'Injured to incapacitation. Mission compromised. Require aid immediately.' Guardian name:…" my entire being is pulled into fear "…Carol Springer."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Upon touching the ground, I summoned my sparrow. Alex and Arc dropped in behind me. "Hold on!" Alex called out, "Why are you such in a rush? You asked us to come with you without explaining the mission." I jumped on my sparrow and then looked at Alex, "Its Leslie. Something happened to her. I need to find her." Alex and Arc nodded understandingly. They jumped on their sparrows and followed me. We sped through the green rocks of Venus, past sulfuric shallow pools glowing the colors of the rainbow, past hollow caves whose contents are unknown, and past Fallen patrols whose aim can't keep up with our speed. We end up at a remote cave far away from known mapped Ishtar Sink. "It's here." Pyro said in my helmet, "The distress call came from here." I pointed towards the cave to Alex and Arc. We dismounted our sparrows and entered the cave, weapons drawn. I hear noises coming from the cave. We trek further and discover a makeshift dormitory. It has been sealed with a guardian-made airlock. I press the button and Pyro disables the internal security locks on it. We step inside and are decontaminated, removing all the sulfur from being on the planet's surface. The inner door opens and we are met with a gruesome sight.

All over the floor were mechanical parts. White liquid stained the rocky flooring and the mechanical bits and parts were found all over the floor. Arms, legs, and torsos littered the cave. Deeper in I hear movement. I run towards it while Alex and Arc inspects the carnage. "Jeez," I heard Arc say, "Looks like there was a milk fight between vex in here." I round the corner and see a body moving. I slowly approach it, weapons drawn, and immediately notice its Carol. She was holding her bloody shoulder which had a hand cannon in her grip. She was sitting up against the wall, breathing heavily. Her shoulder and hands were stained in crimson. "And this one decided to use red wine in the fight." I whisper to myself. "Not funny." Pyro says in my ear.

I take off my helmet since we are in an air-locked place. "Carol, are you okay?" I ask. She grunts, "Yeah. Bleeding a bit but what girl doesn't bleed every now and then, eh?" I chuckle at her humor. I quickly begin to address the wound. I move her hand away from the injury and put my hand on top, "This is gonna sting, okay?" She nods. I will some of my flame to my hand, as if I was trying to summon a grenade. My hand felt hot, but that meant it was working. Carol writhed in pain. I constantly spoke to her, attempting to keep her calm. The wound cauterized, now I began working on treatment. I had Pyro summon advanced first-aid.

"So what happened? And where's Leslie?" I asked her. Through deep breathing, she replied, "Vex got through the airlock. Small team, probably a scout team. We fought them off but our lack of armor made us susceptible to mortal injuries." She grunted before continuing, "A couple of those robotic bastards got away with our ghosts." Arc and Alex stood behind me, listening to the story. "I tried to stop her, but she armored up and took after them. I told her it was too dangerous. That's when she used some schematics and excess Vex pieces here and crafted armor built to be resistant to Vex fire." She inhaled deeply to relax herself, "She's a crafty one I tell ya." She painfully smiled when she finished the story. I help her get up. "Okay, one of you needs to stay and take care of her. The other goes with me." Alex stepped forward. "I'll stay. She mentioned something about schematics. I am intrigued." I nod and look at Arc. "Ready to put some Vex in the ground?" He nods and arms his auto rifle. "All day, every day."

We walk out of the cave. I pull up Pyro, "Alright, can you do a scan? Search for mass Vex activity within a 2 mile radius." Pyro expands to his orb form, pulsing blue for a few seconds. "I got something. About a mile north, large sums of mobile Vex." I nod and motion for Arc to follow me. We jump on our sparrows and sped away towards the mark.

We are met to a little nook in a mountain. It was an obscure entrance in the mountain pass. No wonder someone would miss this. It resembled the entrance to Site 99 near the Vault of Glass. A small entrance that could go unnoticed. We hop off our sparrows and walk into the gap. Instead of being met with green rock towering above my head, the entrance simply opened up to an area with Vex architecture littered everywhere. We walked forward, aware of how quiet it is. We walk past the opening and we start to hear mechanical sounds. Blasters going off, explosions resonating through the canyon. In the midst of Vex fire, I hear quick shots of a ballistic gun, then silence. We hurry towards the next clearing and we see dozens of dead Vex bodies in clusters around the clearing. Vex gates sit idle, no longer glowing. "What happened here?" I ask. "No idea," replies Arc, "But whoever was here did not waste any time." We continue forward, expecting to see more Vex bodies. We found them alright, but they were alive, and very upset.

Two Vex groups took notice of us quickly when we got to the next clearing. We quickly dove into cover, narrowly missing the barrage of fire that came our way. We look at each other and nod, splitting up. I threw a grenade as a diversion and ran to the left behind some rocks. Arc dodged right to avoid the gunfire. I aimed my hand cannon and shot multiple goblins in the torso, making them explode in white milk. The Minotaur didn't seem pleased. He walked forward, blasting my cover in purple explosions. I waited for an opening, hoping that it stopped for a second. Suddenly I hear a sniper shot, stopping the Minotaur fire. I took this chance and I jumped over the rocks, lifting as high as I can in the air. The Minotaur recovered from the surprise shot and looked at me above him. I pulled out my shotgun and aimed at his red eye. I landed my feet on its body and pressed the barrel to its eye. I pulled the trigger and it cocked back, pushing it back as I jumped off its body. I landed on my feet and it remained sprawled and motionless on the ground. I turned to Arc's direction as he finished off a trio of goblins.

The goblin tried to void blast him, but he spun around his arm and riddled the goblin behind him with auto rifle fire. Another goblin tried to punch him from his right, but he ducked down and swept its feet. He pulled out his knife and stabbed the standing goblin in the eye, then in the torso. As the goblin collapsed, he brought his arm around and stabbed the grounded goblin in the torso, putting more force in the stab. He then quickly withdrew his blade and slashed it, finishing it off. All three goblins lay motionless around him. All in all, that took less than a minute to pull off. He put his knife back and jogged to join me.

"Where did you learn all that?" I asked him. He scoffed, "When you been a Hunter as long as I have, you start to learn a few things." We both laugh. "Oh yeah," I continued, "thanks for the sniper cover." He tilted his head in confusion. "Sniper? I use a fusion rifle." He held his fusion rifle in front of me. "Oh um, never mind." I respond. Then who shot that bullet? Maybe it was friendly fire? No, Vex don't use Kinetic ammunition. I decide to not let it phase me. We continue through the canyon. I notice that we stop running into patrols, either destroyed already or we don't see them at all. Eventually, after a good amount of walking, we reach the pit.

It was a circular, stadium-like area. At the other end we see a sitting Minotaur with a small capsule lying beside it. Inside were two small white objects. "That must be their ghosts." commented Arc. I began to wonder where Leslie was. We found no signs of her throughout this entire strike. In my mind, I assumed they must've captured her, analyzing her, or worse. I suppressed the rage and focused on the battle in front of me. It was slightly bigger than most Minotaurs, and it was plated in silver rather than usual metal. It must've sensed our presence, because it stood up and roared its mechanical battle cry. That's when I realized its other unusual difference. Instead of a left hand, it had a red baton-like melee weapon. It was the same color as its eye, pulsating a very threatening red. I readied my hand cannon, and Arc reloaded his auto rifle. Together we charged at the large vex, shooting its body. It took a few minutes of gunfire to discover that it had no weak points. Sadly that was the only consistency between it and other typical Minotaurs. I got close to it with my shotgun and blasted its chest. It swung its baton at me, but I manage to dodge it. "Careful! That thing looks strong enough to knock you to Earth and back!" I heard Arc yell. He put some distance between him and the beast. He took a knee and began firing at the giant. It turned to him and returned fire. Arc got up and ran to avoid the blast. I decided to take the opportunity to deliver a surprise attack. I pulled out my Raze Lighter and lifted up to deliver a solar slash. As I was in the air, the Minotaur suddenly turned and smacked me in the stomach with its gun. I was sent into the ground and my sword flew further, out of my reach. As I coughed and wheezed as an attempt to recover from getting the wind knocked out of me, it towered above me. Instead of blasting me to oblivion, it raised its baton above me. "Jason!" Arc called out. But he was too far to provide any aid. I prepared myself as the Minotaur brought down its hand.

Suddenly, instead of hearing the sound of death and all of my bones being turned into dust, I heard a loud metal bang. I opened my eyes to see a Hunter standing above me, holding off its attack. The creature must be as confused as I was, because it recoiled but didn't shoot. At first, I thought it was Arc, but I saw that this Hunter's cloak wasn't the same as his, also because he was to my far right, staring at me. This hunter wore a blue cloak made out of a Fallen banner. Across their body slung a Fallen-looking sniper rifle. It had its round parts and was painted white. On their left leg was the Last Word, holstered in its bronze glory. The hunter swung their sword to their side and the blade disappeared. He then clipped it back on his belt. He turned around and held his hand out. His armor was a combination of Fallen and Vex metal plates. Spikes stuck out here and there but most of the armor was reinforced with hard metal. I took his hand and got up. Arc tapped my shoulder and held out my sword's hilt, "We have reinforcements now." He turned to the mystery Hunter, "Ready to help us take this down?" Without a word, he nodded.

He pulled out his sniper and took a shot at the giant. The bullet pushed back the Minotaur, which allowed Arc and I to close in. I shot at his eye, trying to make him focus on me. Arc circled around the Minotaur, riddling its metallic body with bullets. Every time the Minotaur tried getting close to me it was met with a hard bullet from a sniper. My HUD displayed its health was slowly depleting. I jumped back as it tried to blast me, but Arc quickly took me off its focus with a sticky grenade. It exploded in a blue mist and the Minotaur glared at Arc. I was about to run back in to help Arc, but I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see the hunter. He pointed to the Minotaur and I noticed what he was referencing. The Vex had a small amount of health left, meaning one massive damage run will finish him. I nodded and called to Arc, "Hey! Let's finish this!" As he dodged its attacks, he noticed as well. Quickly, he ran over to regroup with us. He nodded in agreement and we delivered our final attack.

I shot a round at the Minotaur, forcing its focus on me. The Hunter summoned Golden Gun, firing all three shots into its torso. As it staggered, all three of us rushed it. I slid under it and used Raze Lighter to slash its left leg. It took a knee as its reaction to the hit. Arc pulled out his knife but exploded in electricity, significantly lengthening his blade. The other Hunter ran alongside him, unsheathing his blade. I realized the blade was a Sol Edge, glistening silver off its fire. Arc jumped up to its head and quickly slashed three times before falling to the ground to attack its other leg. The damage crippled it and forced it to be on both knees. I emerged from behind it and summoned my hammers. I threw one on its baton arm, destroying it. I then hammer struck his gun arm as it was about to fire at the rushing Hunter. The force and speed of my strike blew off its arm. The Hunter jumped up to strike. Instead of slashing away, he used the sword's sharp point to strike, stabbing it multiple times. Neither Arc nor I have ever seen a sword being used that way. As for his final strike, he thrusted with his full power, driving the blade into the Vex's eye. The force of the strike pushed the Minotaur back. As soon as the body touched the ground, it began to explode. Arc and I watched as the Hunter jumped off the Minotaur and sheath his sword as the once menacing Vex exploded. Once the noise settled, Arc decided to be the first to say something, "Wow, I wish I was that cool."

The Hunter looked at us and turned to the throne where the Minotaur sat. We both snapped out of our amazement and ran to join him. He grabbed the cylinder and turned to throw it to me. I caught it and examined it. "I have no idea how to open this." I said blatantly. "But our ghost might." Arc added. The Hunter simply sat and watched us. I summoned Pyro and had him work on the lock, "This one seems difficult, but I can do it. Also I promise I won't set off any alarms." After a few seconds, the capsule opened with a hiss. Two ghosts floated out. "Oh thank goodness! We were trapped in there for so long!" One ghost began, "How are our guardians? Are they okay?" I began, "Carol is injured, but stable. As for Leslie," I looked down at the ground, "I don't know if she's alive." Arc nodded, "He's right, we couldn't find her. She may be dead." One ghost shifted with offense, "How rude, saying someone is dead right in front of them." Arc and I looked up in confusion, "What?" The ghost simply floated to the Hunter sitting in front of us and vanished. A few seconds of silence followed. The Hunter suddenly threw up a peace sign and said, in a voice that I haven't heard in over two weeks, "Hey Jason, hey Arc, long time no see."

I waited back till we were at the camp to scold her. Arc, Alex, and Carol were in the living room while Leslie and I were in the bedroom. Leslie leaned against the wall with her head down. Her long brown hair fell in front of her shoulders. Her eyes were filled with relief but apology. "Two weeks, two long weeks, and not a single message." I began. She simply nodded, "I was training so hard, I didn't have time to." I paced back and forth around the bedroom. "And are you crazy? Going off on your own without a ghost? You could've been killed!" Instead of being apologetic, she suddenly lit up, "Really? And wait for rescue to come save me like a damsel in distress?" I sighed, "No not like that. At least you could've waited for back up." She replied, "Well I wasn't gonna get stronger just by waiting around for back up, would I?" I sighed again, "I guess that's right. And by the way, how did you find us?" She looked at me with confusion, "Find you? You guys followed me. I thought you were hostiles, so when I heard you guys, I hid. However, after seeing you two charging through Vex, I decided to stay out of sight and simply provide back up. Taking on all those Vex would've been suicide for me. I barely took out that first group." I had a realization, "So that means those quick shots from our arrival…" she nodded and drew her weapon, spinning it on her finger, "Yup, that was me. Found this bad boy while exploring Fallen bases. It was stored inside a treasure room." I continued, "And the sniper shot…?" She smiled again, "Also me, I saw you were pinned so I provided a helping hand. I found this sniper as a reward for killing a Fallen general. It's called the Devil's Dawn apparently." "And you managed to use Golden Gun without any problems." I added. She nodded, "Yup, Carol worked with me to be able to control it and perfect it." I added one more realization, "And what was that sword fighting style?" She answered, "Oh that, see fighting Vex with a blade like this was proving difficult. So instead of slashing at their metal armor, I tried stabbing the weak parts of their body and their stomach. I did some research and I discovered I'm using it as a _Rapier_ , not a typical sword." She smiled brightly. I stopped pacing and walked up to her and hugged her. "You've gotten so strong." I said, "I'm so proud. I'm also so happy that you're alive." She rested her head on my chest. I let go of her and realized she was tearing up, "Are-are you okay? Was it something I said?" She simply shook her head and wiped a tear from her eye. "No, I'm just happy to know you worried about me." She finished wiping the tears and breathed in, "Alright, now can we please go home? I'm tired of this blasted rock."


End file.
